Devious Licks

The Devious Licks, also referred to as the Diabolical Licks or Dastardly Licks, are a viral TikTok trend in which students post videos of themselves stealing, damaging, or showing off items taken from school, mostly in bathrooms.

Origin
The trend originated on September 1, 2021, after TikTok user @Y2k.cloudy posted a video showing a box of disposable masks they claimed to have stolen from school, with the caption "A month into school... devious lick". Similar videos with the phrase "devious lick" or “dubious lick” soon flooded the platform, with students stealing items such as soap and paper towel dispensers, toilet paper roll shields, exit signs, and telephones, as well as urinals, sinks, floor tiles, smart boards, and microscopes. All of the videos are accompanied by a sped-up version of Lil B's "Ski Ski BasedGod". Many schools began taking action against the trend, warning students of serious school consequences and arrests. More serious vandalism attributed to the trend involve broken mirrors and light fixtures, as reported in the North East Independent School District. In Polk County, Florida, three students were arrested from two high schools, as well as one 11-year-old who was arrested for damaging and stealing soap dispensers at Bartow High School. In Boone County, Kentucky, eight students were charged over the trend, four receiving theft and four receiving vandalism charges. In one incident, a student allegedly held their principal hostage in a closet at Davies High School in Fargo, North Dakota, with police surrounding the building. However this was disproven as the police were there for a 20th anniversary September 11 ceremony at the time, and the video was revealed to be a joke.

Platform response
TikTok began removing videos featuring the trend, with the original video being removed on September 13. 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 235 million views. Related hashtags were redirected to TikTok's community guidelines.