TikTok Under Fire Over ‘Devious Licks’ Viral Challenge Inspiring Students To Vandalize School Bathrooms

HALEDON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — A new, destructive TikTok craze has teens stealing and damaging spot astatine schools.

From stealing schoolhouse supplies to trashing bathrooms, students astir the state are jumping connected a viral TikTok trend.

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Parents and teachers are rapidly getting a clang course, too.

“I was wholly unaware of this phenomenon. But lo and behold, the precise adjacent day, we experienced a signifier of mild vandalism,” said Chris Wacha, superintendent of Haledon Public School.

Wacha said a time aft his lad warned him astir a situation called “Devious Licks” past week, idiosyncratic caused $400 successful plumbing harm to the boys’ bathroom.

“It’s not good. They request to unopen this down. They request parents of the kids to travel successful and explain. This is simply a superior matter,” genitor Florencio Hernandez said.

“For each enactment determination is simply a reaction, truthful if you bash thing that’s not cool, past thing not chill is going to hap to you,” genitor Machanga Blackmon added.

In Connecticut, immoderate schoolhouse administrators are taking drastic action, joining Sen. Richard Blumenthal astatine the authorities capitol Monday to request TikTok prohibition users who person participated successful the trend.

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“Theft and vandalism are glorified, literally. The viral videos picture arsenic heroes the students who are stealing,” Blumenthal said.

The societal media tract says it has already taken steps to unopen down the inclination by removing content.

If you hunt the hashtag “Devious Licks,” a connection appears saying “no results found.”

In Haledon, those liable were disciplined. The superintendent said the cardinal to preventing aboriginal vandalism lies wrong kids.

“I privation them to benignant of spell done the afloat decision-making process, and analyse and beryllium an autarkic thinker,” Wacha said.

The process starts with parents talking with their children.

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Blumenthal said, nationally, determination person been implicit 94,000 of these viral videos implicit the past mates of months.