Shooting, bomb threats on TikTok prompt schools to beef up security

Anonymous posts on TikTok warning that multiple schools in the US would receive shooting and bomb threats has outraged educators around the country.

Educators announced plans on Friday to increase security in response to the TikTok posts as officials assured parents the viral posts were not considered credible.

“We are writing to inform you and not alarm you,” Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois, school administrators said in an email to parents. 

“We have been made aware of a nationwide viral TikTok trend about ‘school shooting and bomb threats for every school in the USA even elementary’ on Friday, December 17.”

School officials in states including Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Montana, New York and Pennsylvania said on Thursday there would be an increased police presence because of the threats.

In a statement on Twitter, TikTok said it was working with law enforcement to investigate.

“We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness,” the statement said, “which is why we’re working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok.”

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Closing schools

At least a few districts announced plans to close school buildings on Friday, including Gilroy High School in northern California. 

Gilroy police said they had found threats on social media not to be credible, but school officials said final exams scheduled for Friday, the last day before winter break, would be postponed to January out of an abundance of caution.

“Making the decision to cancel classes tomorrow has not been an easy one,” Principal Greg Kapaku said in a message to parents.

Disturbing trends in Tiktok

The posts follow a disturbing trend that has had students acting out in response to social media challenges. 

In September, students across the US posted videos of themselves vandalising school bathrooms and stealing soap dispensers as part of the “devious licks” challenge.

In October, students were challenged to slap a teacher, prompting the National Education Association to call on the leaders of Facebook, Twitter and TikTok to intervene.

Internet companies such as TikTok are generally exempt from liability under US law for the material users post on their networks, thanks in large part to the legal “safe harbor” they are given by Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.

“It would be unlikely that TikTok would be liable if there were actually to be a shooting,” said Jeff Kosseff, who wrote a book about Section 230 and teaches cybersecurity law at the US Naval Academy. 

“Even without 230, there are just a lot of barriers against being able to bring a cause of action against the medium on which a threat was posted.”

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