Israeli ‘TikTok law’ seeks to stop wave of Arab attacks

By World Israel News Staff

In the wake of a rising number of Arab attacks on Jews which are posted to social media apps like TikTok, a Knesset bill was put forward on Wednesday aimed at stopped the phenomenon, N12 reports.

The bill would amend the penal code by defining the distribution of violent and inciteful videos as a criminal offense, punishable by up to three years in prison, the website reports.

The bill was proposed by MK Uriel Bosso of the Shas party and MK Ofir Sofer of the Religious Zionism party.

They define the phenomenon in their bill as “violent and inciting discourse against the public on a sectoral/ethnic background, which is distributed as part of laughter and frivolity videos that encourage and produce physical or verbal violence.”

The bill also includes content that documents acts of violence, abusive discourse, contempt and humiliation, as well as content that encourages it.

“With the proliferation of media on social networks, a situation has arisen of a desire to generate ratings by various methods and in every conceivable form without supervision, and this turns into a trend of violence and incitement bordering on terrorism,” the memorandum to the proposed law said.

The drafters of the bill also note that such media posts could encourage copy cats.

The popular social media platform TikTok is meant to be a place where teenagers and adults alike can upload short clips, usually set to music, which are designed to be easily shared and go viral.

Users often engage in “challenges” on the app, which usually involve filming a clip of themselves following a dance routine or re-creating an optical illusion.

However, the app has developed a darker side, in which users document criminality. In the case of Israel it has expressed itself as Arab attacks on Jews.