San Jose mayor wants tech giants to moderate sideshow content – San José Spotlight

San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata and Mayor Matt Mahan speak at a news conference on using social media to stop sideshows on Aug. 31, 2023. Photo by Jana Kadah.San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is asking social media companies for help in solving the city’s growing sideshow struggle. Mahan wants big name platforms such as Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok to temporarily suspend accounts that post about local sideshow activities. He said at a news conference today that the companies are willing to meet to discuss if this is possible. Sideshows are a Bay Area phenomenon born in the 1980s where drivers gather in vacant lots or public intersections to show off cars and perform stunts like doughnuts. Sideshows have grown in recent years from a few dozen cars to hundreds. San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata said it’s become infinitely more dangerous and popular due to social media. “Before social media they were probably using flyers, and obviously (social media) is an easier way to communicate,” Mata told San José Spotlight. “It invites hundreds of people right to these types of events.” San Jose made watching sideshows illegal in 2019 and outlawed their promotion two years
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