TikTok is a great place to be entertained and kill time, however, it is not a great place to obtain legal advice.
Over the holidays, having time to kill, I scrolled my FYP (For You Page) on TikTok and was blown away at the amount of people (aka Influencers) on TikTok (what are they even influencing?!) posting videos containing legal advice on areas such as employment law and residential tenancies. These Influencers are not qualified (or licensed) to do provide legal advice.
Some of them claim that what they’re posting isn’t “legal advice,” but simply for “information purposes” or “entertainment purposes” only. I disagree. These disclaimers are a way for these influencers to attempt to avoid any responsibility and/or consequences for what they claim in their videos.
It is quite frightening how wrong some of this information is, and even worse, how many people believe it.
The comments on these posts are flooded with people asking further legal questions and the Influencer doubles down on their advice.
Some of the more notable TikToks are Influencers claiming that Employment Contracts are not enforceable, and you do not have to abide by the terms of your employment, then encourages folks to avoid signing them at all costs.
Another hot take being a tenant can stop paying rent because of the length of time it takes to get to a Hearing Date to evict them, giving the tenant enough time to find new residence so they can stiff the Landlord. Just what we need, unnecessary Applications flooding an already backlogged tribunal.
Relying on TikTok lawyers can cause you a whole lot of stress, waste a lot of time and money and you would only have yourself to blame.
Tiktok is a terrible place to get legal advice. Just don’t do it. If you have any questions regarding the law, including your employment contract or tenancy, contact a lawyer or paralegal who are actually qualified to provide legal advice to you.
Murray Brown, Licensed Paralegal