‘Devious licks’ TikTok development causes destruction to Horry County Colleges

from: WBTW News Staff, Associated Press

Posted: 09/27/2021 / 10:04 PM EDT
Updated: 09/27/2021 / 10:04 PM EDT

(Getty Images)

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WBTW / AP) – The Horry County School District has seen a surge in student vandalism in the past two weeks as part of a TikTok viral trend called “devious licks” – slang for theft.

Children in schools across the United States post TikTok videos devastating school toilets and stealing soap dispensers and even lawns from soccer fields.

Horry County Schools officials said they have so far identified 26 incidents related to the challenge. “We were able to identify all those involved in these acts and they will be held accountable for their actions,” said spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier.

The “sneaky leaks” challenge has hit social media for the past two weeks, plaguing school principals and school district administrators who are already facing a bitter debate about masking requirements to keep COVID-19 at bay. Some schools have had to closely monitor or even close the toilets, where much of the damage is occurring.

Horry County Schools officials urge parents to speak to their children about this Tik Tok challenge and their behavior at school. “We work very hard and pride ourselves on creating clean buildings with a great atmosphere and we will not tolerate such disruptive behavior,” said Bourcier.

A spokesperson said TikTok was removing “sneaky leaks” and relaying hashtags and search results to its policies to prevent the behavior and not allow content that “encourages or enables criminal activity.”

School principals with HCS have actively advised students and parents of various possible consequences, including suspension from school, financial reimbursement, criminal charges, loss of driving licenses, and more.

TikTok has confirmed that it is in the process of removing videos associated with the “devil licks” trend that violate the platform’s community guidelines.

However, the hashtag “devious licks” has already had more than 175 million views.

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