Surrey RCMP are investigating multiple reports of vandalism in public washrooms, which may be related to the ‘devious licks’ TikTok challenge.

Over the last several months, Surrey RCMP received multiple calls of vandalism of public washroom facilities, particularly in the Cloverdale area. The damage has included smashed toilets, broken doors, partitions, vents, as well as stolen soap dispensers.

The RCMP said it’s aware that the incidents could be related to a social media trend where youth film themselves causing damage to washrooms and post the video to apps such as TikTok.

“These acts of vandalism are unacceptable and have caused significant damage to our much-needed public washroom facilities,” Surrey RCMP Const. Sarbjit Sangha said in a news release. “We encourage parents to speak to their children about the fact that committing an illegal act, all for the sake of online popularity or likes, can have consequences now and into the future.

According to Wikipedia, a ‘devious lick’ is a viral 2021 TikTok challenge in which one of more high school students post a video of themselves stealing soap dispensers or causing damage to public or school washrooms. The trend originated in the U.S.

The trend was banned by TikTok on September 15 for violating TikTok’s Community Guidelines against illegal activities, by which time the “devious” hashtag had over 235 million views. Searching for related hashtags results in a message about TikTok’s Community Guidelines, according to Wikipedia.