By Jana Kadah. San Jose Spotlight.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is asking social media companies for help in solving the growing fight over the city's sideshows.
Mahan wants big-name platforms like Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, to temporarily suspend accounts that post about local entertainment activities. He told a news conference on Thursday that the companies are willing to meet to discuss whether this is possible.
Sideshows are a Bay Area phenomenon born in the 1980s, where drivers gather in vacant lots or public intersections to display cars and perform stunts like donuts.
Secondary shows have grown in recent years from a few dozen cars to hundreds. San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata said it has become infinitely more dangerous and popular because of social media.
“Before social media, they probably used flyers, and obviously (social media) is an easier way to communicate,” Mata told San Jose Spotlight. “Invite hundreds of people to these kinds of events.”
San Jose banned sideshows in 2019 and banned their promotion two years later, but it hasn't fixed the problem. In recent years, bystanders have been injured and killed, police have recovered drugs and illegal firearms from these gatherings, and a responding police helicopter was met with fire, according to Mahan's office.
Mahan said that for these reasons, social media platforms must be part of the solution. Sideshow promoters and enthusiasts often take to social media not only to promote their events, he said, but also to gain a large following thanks to their posts — the more outrageous, the more followers they attract.
“The big platforms, which by the way are some of the most profitable companies in the world, certainly have a responsibility to help us have a safe community,” Mahan said. "And certainly ensuring that behavior on their platforms doesn't go against our laws and undermine our ability to enforce the laws."
Mahan's proposal includes banning accounts that post sideshows for 30 days after their first violation. Repeat offenders should be permanently banned, he said. But it's not clear whether social media companies agree to these terms.
The meeting with the social media giants will take place next month. Mahan said this is not a breach of privacy because this activity is typically posted to public accounts.
“We are not policing what someone privately texts their friends and family,” Mahan explained to San José Spotlight. “People are actually benefiting from posting videos of illegal activities and building a large following on social media, and their reputations are being rewarded socially.”
Mata said that while these accounts are gaining more ground with likes and followers, the SJPD is also getting more calls about sideshows, indicating that residents don't feel safe. Last year, the department responded to 232 sideshows. This year the police have already responded to 184, Mata said.
Lilia Gaspar, a board member for the Seven Trees Neighborhood Association, said her family has been directly affected by the increasing number of dangerous sideshows. Her son's car was stolen and her neighborhood is often noisy with cars, she said.
He pointed out that he also encountered a life-threatening situation at a sideshow when he was prevented from taking his 90-year-old mother to the hospital.
“I have been stuck inside because of different sideshows,” Gaspar explained. “Every weekend we have sideshows. Our vehicles are being damaged and that is hurting our community."
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