#tiktok

While American politicians love to harp about TikTok’s Chinese owners and the national security issues that could bring, it may also be true that they worry that the platform is influencing an entire generation with quick hits of liberal political thought and economic theory. A recent survey from AlixPartners found that young TikTok users are increasingly seeing EVs on the app, with more than half of them saying they were aware of Chinese brands like Lynk&Co and BYD.

We’ve been hearing about the TikTok-inspired thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles for a while, including that some insurers have declined to issue new policies on some models. Now, several states are calling on the feds to issue a recall for the cars and fix the problem.

Beyond infecting the minds of young people and potentially opening dangerous back-door data access to Americans’ phones, TikTok has also gifted the world with the knowledge of how to steal older Hyundai and Kia models easily. The problem has gotten so bad that some insurers won’t cover the cars, and owners have been left scrambling for a fix. The Korean automakers have a few ideas, including issuing free steering wheel locks and upgrading the anti-theft software on millions of vehicles.

Most of our readers will recall learning about the specter of people discovering – then explaining in detail – just how easy it is to steal some Hyundai and Kia products. Now, workers from the mothership have apparently come up with a solution, one which involves a simple software upgrade.

You’ve probably heard about the TikTok-inspired uptick in Hyundai and Kia thefts, where the lack of an immobilizer has given thieves an open invitation. Beyond the stress that your car could be stolen at any time, insurance companies now appear to be less willing to cover the vehicles. 

Owners of older Hyundai and Kia models have had a rough go over the last few months. A TikTok video made them the targets of thefts and break-ins after it was discovered that the vehicles didn’t have electronic immobilizers. Some have sued, some are resorting to old-school measures like “The Club,” and others are looking to dealers for help. A dealer service director in St. Louis came up with an answer.

I am an optimist by nature. One must be, in order to be a lifelong Chicago sports fan — otherwise, the crushing realization that decades of failure are likely to be followed by a future that consists of more of the same might cause a person to take a one-way stroll into Lake Michigan.

I am trying to retain that optimism even as more and more evidence, both empirical and anecdotal, emerges that social media has warped humanity’s brains beyond recognition. I try to see some value in it — surely your second cousin twice removed would be unaware of your recent Jamaican vacation and how much fun you had YOLO’ing if you didn’t have a Facebook account, right?

Surely your 10 Twitter followers must know your thoughts on how to solve the morass in Ukraine, because you have figured out something that world leaders haven’t, and the world just has to know.