A UK police leader has called on TikTok to investigate the mass disorder that took place in Oxford Street last week.
Donna Jones, the chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), said the social media app had a “duty” to “prevent criminal activity being orchestrated through their channels”.
Hundreds of teenagers descended on the West End from 3pm on Wednesday after a video calling for a JD Sports shop to be looted went viral online.
Ms Jones called on social media companies such as TikTok to investigate and crack down on posts orchestrating flashmobs, which encourage criminal behaviour or explain publicly what action they are already taking.
The Conservative Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner told the Guardian: “If I was a person in charge of governance of TikTok at the moment, I would be running an investigation to find out what has happened, particularly as there are very well known social media influencers on that particular social media channel who are linked directly to what happened in Oxford Street.”
At least nine people were arrested in the disorder on Oxford Street.
Posts online promoting an organised “robbery”, with a date, time and dress code, were captioned: “Don’t come if you can’t run.”
People were urged to wear balaclavas and gloves but not bring weapons.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister branded the incident “appalling” and “unacceptable”.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to a hospital in Buckinghamshire, Rishi Sunak said: “This obviously happened while I was abroad. I have got to say it is appalling.
“Criminal damage, criminal behaviour is unacceptable. I fully support the police in bringing those people to justice.
“I want anyone watching who is thinking about this, who sees something like this, to know that they will be met with the full force of the law.
“Because that type of behaviour is simply unacceptable in our society.”
A TikTok spokeswoman said: “We have zero tolerance for content facilitating or encouraging criminal activities.
“We have over 40,000 safety professionals dedicated to keeping TikTok safe - if we find content of this nature, we remove it and actively engage with law enforcement on these issues.”
