No WA police call on ‘TikTok crimes’

The federal government’s eSafety Commissioner is yet to receive a formal request from WA police to take action over a social media-inspired crime wave.

Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

The federal government’s eSafety Commissioner is yet to receive a formal request from West Australian police to take action over a social media-inspired crime wave that has hospitalised at least four police officers.

Appearing before a Senates estimates committee on Tuesday, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she was not aware of the role that the likes of TikTok and Snapchat had played in exacerbating a juvenile crime wave in regional WA before it was reported this week.

The Australian on Monday revealed that WA Police Minister Paul Papalia had written to federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher calling for the government to use its powers and force social media companies to take down content that was feeding competition between Kimberley and Pilbara gangs.

At least 12 police vehicles have been chased by juveniles in stolen vehicles since September, and nine police vehicles have been damaged after being rammed in those incidents that police believe are part of a “TikTok challenge” among juvenile criminals.

Earlier this month, vision of a stolen vehicle occupied by an 11-year-old, 12-year-old and 13-year-old ramming a police car into a tree in Broome was posted on TikTok.

Under questioning from Liberal senator Dean Smith, Ms Grant said her office had not been aware of the concerns with the platforms being used in such a way in the region until recently.

“No agency in the world could possibly trawl the entire internet to detect bad behaviour,” Ms Grant said.

“We are happy to take reports on this now and do whatever we can to remove … the content.”

She said the group had not received any formal complaint from WA police, which is required before the commission can begin taking action, but she had asked the commission’s lead investigator to engage with both WA police and the social media companies to look into the issue and ensure action was being taken.