2023-05-20 09:00:03
South Korean automaker Hyundai intends to pay up to $200 million in compensation to owners of cars manufactured in the United States, after a series of thefts and accidents resulting from a challenge that became viral on the TikTok application.
With the aim of ending class action lawsuits, the company reached an agreement to compensate about 9 million owners of “Hyundai” and “Kia” cars made between 2011 and 2022, from models such as “Tuson”, “Santa Fe” and “Elantra”, according to a company statement.
Dubbed the “Kia Challenge”, the TikTok challenge began on the popular platform in 2022, after thieves known by the pseudonym “Kia Boys” showed in a video how to force-start certain cars using a USB cable.
The number of thefts has increased dramatically, and “the phenomenon has resulted in at least 14 traffic accidents and 8 deaths,” according to the US Highway Safety Agency.
In February, the federal agency announced that Hyundai and Kia would cover the costs of an anti-theft program by providing millions of cars with the immobilizer system free of charge.
According to the agreement, which was disclosed on Thursday, the automaker will pay compensation to consumers whose car is stolen or damaged and who did not receive compensation under their insurance contracts, including increases in related premiums.
The TikTok platform, owned by the Chinese company “ByteDance”, is facing problems in the United States, in light of the demands of many elected officials from the forces of the right and the left to ban the application from the country.
They accuse TikTok of manipulating and spying on users on behalf of the Chinese Communist regime, which the company has always denied.
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