Mayor Eric Adams joined Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell and Deputy Mayor Philip Banks on Thursday to warn New Yorkers of a series of car thefts reportedly spurred on by social media.
According to mayor Adams, a social media trend known as the “Kia Boyz TikTok challenge” that began gaining traction in mid-2022 is seeing teens steal Kia and Hyundai cars. Due to an alleged defect in these vehicles, the joy riders are able to gain easy access to the automobiles, putting themselves and the public at risk.
“Just really emphasizes my continuous call of the responsible behavior of social media and what social media is doing to a generation of our children. Just yesterday we had young people who climbed to the top of one of our bridges and they were noticed taking photos. The challenges that you see on social media is creating challenges for parents to raise children in a proper environment,” Mayor Adams said. “This challenge in particular with Kia and Hyundai, we see it as not only stealing a vehicle, but it’s stealing the future of young people. When you are arrested for a grand larceny auto, it is a felony. It remains on your record; it impacts your life in a real way. And in some of these cases, the vehicles are being used in crimes.”