Social media giant TikTok appears to be eyeing space in Herndon.
Fairfax County’s land use database shows that the video-sharing service has applied for a permit at 13641 Sunrise Valley Drive near the Innovation Center Metro station.
The application was accepted by the county on Feb. 8 to allow commercial additions and alterations for a new tenant layout, but it’s unclear how much square footage the company will lease or what function the space will serve.
TikTok didn’t return multiple requests for comment from FFXnow. The applicant address listed on county permits is for the company’s California office at 5800 Bristol Parkway in Culver City, according to documents reviewed by FFXnow.
The company originated in 2016 when ByteDance, a Chinese technology company, launched the video-sharing platform Douyin. After success in China and Thailand, the company expanded in 2018 under the brand TikTok, which has since become one of the world’s most dominant social media apps.
In recent years, TikTok has come under scrutiny in the U.S. for its Chinese ties, which have raised national security issues, and its possible effects on children and teens. The company’s CEO and other social media leaders testified before Congress on Jan. 31, as federal lawmakers consider privacy, safety and content regulations.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has prohibited TikTok on state government devices, and he advocated for a ban on the platform for kids under 18.
This is not the first time that permits by TikTok have surfaced in the county’s database. Last year, a permit application for an interior tenant fit-out at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza was submitted in August but then quickly voided.
At the time, the company didn’t respond to comment requests from FFXnow. A representative for Comstock, the developer that owns the property, told FFXnow there was “no deal in progress at Reston Station” for TikTok.
TikTok established its global headquarters in Singapore and Culver City in 2020. Its owner, ByteDance, also has offices in the Seattle area, New York City, Chicago and D.C., among other U.S. cities.
Image via Google Maps
An impromptu race at McLean High School has gained some serious online traction.
University of Virginia track star Alahna Sabbakhan was visiting the school at 1633 Davidson Road for a straightforward workout, but then, a friend of her boyfriend claimed that he could beat her in a 400-meter race, despite not being a runner.
“He refused to believe that a woman could beat him in a race,” Sabbakhan said in a video that has been viewed more than 11 million times since she posted it on TikTok on Dec. 17.
A sprinter and middle distance runner, Sabbakhan says in the video that, while she didn’t have anything to prove, she agreed to the challenge only because she was already planning to run 400 meters for her workout. When he invited his parents, family and friends to watch, however, she started wondering “what the heck did I get myself into?”
After keeping even with the unnamed man for about 200 meters, Sabbakhan kicked her pace into another gear for the second half of the race and won without seeming to break a sweat.
“I finished hard, because that’s what you do as a track runner, and this was also one of the reps of my 400 workout, so I’m just doing my workout,” she said.
Sabbakhan added that she finished the 400 meters in 57 seconds, “which is pretty good for practice.” Her personal best time of 54.67 seconds was achieved at the Atlantic Coast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships last year, according to her UVA athlete profile.
In an interview with UVA Today, UVA’s Office of University Communications publication, Sabbakhan said she initially regretted sharing the video on social media, where it has started to gain a foothold on other platforms.
She noted that she didn’t intend for people to “jump on” the man and they’re “on good terms” after talking about the viral video.
A native of D.C., Sabbakhan graduated from St. John’s College High School before attending UVA, where she’s now a senior.
A female D1 track star Alahna Sabbakhan raced a man who insisted he could beat her. The result is going viral pic.twitter.com/7gx0UVuThn
— Track Spice 🌶️ (@trackspice) January 6, 2024
The Town of Herndon has shut down a resident’s months-long attempt to construct an elaborate tunnel system under her house.
Nicknamed “tunnel girl” by online followers, Kala shared in a Dec. 28 video that local officials have issued a stop-work order requiring her to suspend the “secret tunnel” project that she has been documenting on TikTok and, occasionally, YouTube since October 2022.
Though Kala’s videos showcase an extensive operation involving makeshift mine carts and a slide that dumps rubble into an outdoor dumpster, Herndon wasn’t alerted to the construction work — and its potential building code violations — until early December, according to the town.
“The Town of Herndon received notice that activity in potential violation of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) was occurring at a residential property within the town’s corporate limits,” the town said in a statement. “As is standard protocol following such notifications, representatives from the building official’s and zoning administrator’s offices conducted a site inspection on Thursday, December 7, 2023. The town is working with the property owner to correct any violations and ensure that the property is safe and in compliance with the code.”
The town was notified by a resident who submitted a complaint on Dec. 5, reporting that their neighbor has been engaged in non-stop construction for about three years.
According to the service request, the resident “always saw huge piles of dirt leaving her property to the point that she pays for a dump truck to get the dirt out,” but they didn’t realize what was going on until Kala’s TikTok account @engineer.everything appeared on their friend’s page and they recognized her as their neighbor.
“She [is] building a tunnel. Is this ok for her to do? She has a YouTube channel showing how she’s been doing the tunnel since the beginning of her move,” the complaint said. “Can someone please look at her tik tock and see if she has the permits and permission from the town of Herndon.”
When contacted by FFXnow, Kala said she’s working with local officials to obtain permits, declining to publicly comment until that process is complete.
Kala announced plans on Oct. 23, 2022 to build a storm shelter off of her basement, anticipating that the project will be complicated, expensive and require the construction of a crane system to haul rubble 14 feet up from a basement window to ground level.
Subsequent updates have touched on everything from Home Depot visits to a fire that broke out in the tunnel last July. At one point, Kala constructed a sub-pump to address flooding from groundwater.
In the process, she has attracted nearly 532,000 followers — and plenty of online speculation about her qualifications and the legality and safety of her “suburban mining operation,” as she sometimes calls the project.
According to an NBC News profile, Kala began digging the 30-foot-long, 20-foot-deep tunnel because she enjoys home improvement challenges. She previously built a four-story addition to the back of her house.
While passionate about civil and mechanical engineering, she has no formal training in those fields, studying business in school and working mostly in information technology, NBC News reported.
Image via @engineer.everything/TikTok
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced [on Tuesday] the commonwealth is joining 32 other states in a federal lawsuit against Meta over allegations its social media platforms are purposely harmful to children.
The lawsuit alleges that Meta knew about the extent of the psychological and health harms suffered by young users addicted to its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, but falsely assured the public they are safe and suitable for children and teens.
It also claims Meta’s business model exploits and monetizes young users through data harvesting and targeted ads by designing purposely-addictive platform features.
The suit alleges features such as auto-play, algorithms and near-constant alerts were knowingly created with the express goal of hooking children and teens into descending “rabbit holes.” In turn, the suit claims young users can be exposed to harmful content such as suicide and self-harm content, hate speech and misinformation.
The suit claims Meta also has a “deep understanding” of the significant and extensive harms to young people associated with addiction and compulsive use of the platforms, including depression, eating disorders, physical self-harm and suicidal ideation.
Miyares compared Meta to big tobacco companies advertising to children, pointing to the Joe Camel cartoon as a way to hook young people on cigarettes.
“At the expense of public health and specifically the health of our youth, they’ve exploited the vulnerability of our young children and the fundamental desire for connection for their own personal gain,” Miyares said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Additionally, the suit alleges Meta is well aware that kids under the age of 13 are on their platform, but still collects data from these children without first obtaining verifiable parental consent as required by the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Miyares said that Meta could obtain parental consent using age verification technologies, like uploading a drivers license or official government identification. When asked about the potential for data breaches seen in states requiring third-party age verification methods to access pornographic websites, Miyares reiterated the technology is a great first step to protecting children.
“Let’s try to protect our kids, let’s try to protect their innocence and let’s make sure parents are involved and parents matter,” Miyares said.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has previously expressed similar concerns that parents need to be more involved in efforts to mitigate the impact of social media on children and teenagers.
Youngkin proposed an amendment to Virginia’s pornographic website age verification law that would have extended the age of children who require parental consent for social media accounts from under 13 to under 18. The Senate narrowly rejected the proposal.
At a “Parents Matter” town hall this August, Youngkin heavily emphasized the importance of parents’ involvement in their child’s social media life.
Miyares said he hopes Meta complies with consumer protection laws and prioritizes the safety of children moving forward, and if not, he isn’t afraid of the fight.
“We would welcome the opportunity to have a meaningful discussion about how they could change their platforms to better protect our children and our teens,” Miyares said. “You chose to fight us, we’ll see you in court.”
Image via Brett Jordan/Unsplash. This article was reported and written by the Virginia Mercury, and has been reprinted with permission.
The Fairfax County Police Department is conducting an administrative review of a traffic stop on Richmond Highway this past weekend, video from which was posted on social media.
The woman who posted the viral video to Instagram on Saturday (Oct. 1) said she was on her way to Walmart to pick up food for her kids, who were in the car, when a police cruiser hit her vehicle “head on going 60 to 70 mph.”
“I’m sitting at the light, and he comes and hits me from the front, claiming that I was in a high-speed chase,” the woman said in the video. “I’ve been in the hospital, having my…baby.”
The car that the woman was driving had been reported in connection to a felony in Arlington, according to a FCPD statement posted Sunday night, and the occupants were listed as potentially “armed and dangerous.”
In her post, the woman says the officers pointed a gun at her and told her to put her hands outside the car window, “screaming that I could become a threat if I moved.” She and the kids were put in the back of a police vehicle, while police searched the car and verified her account.
The video shows the woman telling police that they “have the wrong person” and should call Inova Alexandria Hospital to verify that she was recently there. After an officer opens the back door of a police cruiser to let the kids out, the woman walks to a Fairfax County Fire and Rescue ambulance and says she’s going to sue.
“Excuse my mouth, but stuff got me out of character today,” she said, acknowledging the profanity used throughout the encounter.
FCPD said Sunday that patrol officers had stopped a vehicle in the Mount Vernon area around 3:30 p.m. the previous day, but police say the officer who hit the woman’s car was traveling under 10 mph at the time of the collision.
The video shows a dimple on the car’s front bumper and a dent on the driver’s door. An FCPD spokesperson told FFXnow that the dent “was not from us,” according to a police supervisor, noting that the police cruiser had no damage.
Officers stopped the car because it matched a silver Nissan Altima that Arlington County had entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, according to FCPD.
“Officers verified the alert as a felony vehicle with occupants listed as armed and dangerous, traveling in the area of Richmond Hwy and South Kings Hwy,” the FCPD said.
According to the Arlington County Police Department, the vehicle had been entered into the NCIC after someone driving it fled from an attempted traffic stop near Crystal City for an expired registration.
From ACPD:
At the intersection of Richmond Highway and 33rd Street S., the officer attempted a traffic stop by activating their emergency equipment. The driver of the vehicle fled, ran two red lights, and exited Arlington County. The officer entered the vehicle into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for felony eluding with a request that the occupants be identified if the vehicle was stopped by law enforcement. The registered owner of the vehicle was determined to have multiple weapons offenses and was listed as possibly armed and dangerous. The investigation into the eluding is ongoing.
The FCPD spokesperson said that an officer pulled up in front of the car to box it in, and police instructed the driver to get out of the car while at gunpoint, describing that as standard procedure for a “felony traffic stop.”
Police confirmed that the woman had been in the hospital at the time of the crime and none of the passengers, including another woman and two children, had been involved in the Arlington incident. However, they also found that the woman didn’t own the car, so it was towed, the spokesperson said.
“Somebody else had access to that car while she was in the hospital, so she wasn’t involved with any of this,” police said. “But the car was listed as a felony vehicle with dangerous people inside, so our officers stopped the car, as they should, and made sure that the dangerous people weren’t inside the car.”
FFXnow contacted the woman but was unable to get comment by publication time. She told NBC 4 that it was a “very traumatic situation” and she wants an apology from FCPD, asking why police didn’t use their lights and sirens to simply pull her over.
Fairfax County Public Schools is establishing clearer ground rules for its employees’ use of social media.
Under a proposed new policy, FCPS workers will be prohibited from expressing their personal beliefs, disparaging other community members, and other actions on accounts affiliated with the school system.
A draft of the policy was discussed earlier today (Tuesday) by the Fairfax County School Board’s governance committee.
The policy will bring FCPS in line with other school divisions in the region, according to Executive Director of Communications & Community Relations Helen Lloyd.
“The goal of the proposed social media policy is…ensure we are providing clear guidance to staff around the need to make distinctions between personal social media (where they can express any view they like) and professional social media (FCPS use for work purposes) where there are professional expectations around use,” Lloyd told FFXnow by email.
Lloyd emphasized that the policy won’t limit what employees can say or do on their personal accounts, though it states that staff should include a disclaimer in their bio that the views expressed are their own, not those of their employer.
According to the draft policy, the official FCPS social media accounts and other accounts for specific schools, classes, or employees are barred from posting or sharing content that:
- expresses or disseminates any one person’s political or philosophical beliefs, interests, opinions, ideas, photos, videos, or other content.
- conducts private business or executes financial transactions.
- campaigns for or against any political candidate, including the account user.
- engages in arguments with other users.
- plagiarizes the work of others.
- is obscene or libelous.
- questions FCPS’ commitment to serve all students.
- disparages others, especially students, staff or families.
Other prohibited content includes information that could “jeopardize the privacy, safety, or well-being of students and staff,” violates local, state, or federal laws, or FCPS policies, or is “otherwise substantially disruptive to the educational environment of the school or school division operations or activities.”
A proposed regulation supporting the policy also addresses interactions with journalists and the news media, requiring that FCPS employees obtain permission from a principal or manager before providing information or participating in interviews.
The principal or program manager is then required to notify the FCPS Office of Communication and Community Relations in advance or as soon as possible, if “a circumstance makes it unrealistic” to provide notice ahead of time.
“In the same way that any large organization wants to ensure staff who are representing them in the public forum represent their values and mission, FCPS asks that staff asked to speak for FCPS reach out to their principal ahead of time,” Lloyd said.
The proposal comes as FCPS is also moving to establish new expectations for students’ social media use through Student Rights & Regulations revisions scheduled to be approved by the school board on May 26.
Earlier this year, the school system had banned students from accessing Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms when using the school’s network or school-issued laptops.
Under the proposed revisions, students could be allowed to use social media with administrators’ permission, but activity must be related to academic activities.
FCPS Proposes Limiting Phone and Social Media Use — “Proposed updates to school policies in Fairfax County Public Schools would ban students from using social media sites for non-academic purposes during school hours and define when cellphones can be used during the school day.” The phone policy has already been implemented at Herndon middle and high schools. [WTOP]
Falls Church Development Under Construction — Developer Insight Property Group will break ground today (Friday) on its 2.7-acre Broad and Washington project, which has been in the works since 2015. The mixed-use development will eventually include a 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods, 339 residential units, space for the theater nonprofit Creative Cauldron, a public plaza, and ground-floor retail. [Falls Church News-Press]
Police Officer Saves Glued Snake — “This little snake is alive and free tonight thanks to @FairfaxCountyPD’s Animal Protection Police Officer McLemore! The snake was caught in a glue trap, and it took time, care, and mineral oil to free him. Thank you for rescuing this little guy!” [Fairfax Animals/Twitter]
Metro Police to Increase Presence — “The Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) says they are increasing their visibility on trains, buses, and in stations to help deter crime…Crime has not spiked on Metro recently, but it certainly has not dropped at the same proportion that ridership has.” [DCist]
Vienna Plants Tree for Arbor Day — “Help Vienna celebrate the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day by planting a tree with us tomorrow, Friday, April 29! We’ll plant a white Dogwood with the help of local Girl Scout Troops 1489, 50056, and 50157. The event starts at 5 p.m. next to the Vienna Community Center front entrance.” [Vienna Happenings]
Meeting Planned on Mount Vernon RECenter Project — The Fairfax County Park Authority will update the public at a meeting on Wednesday (May 4) on its expansion plan, which will require a two-year closure starting early 2023. Staff will explain the project schedule, including the timing of the recently approved facility closure due to supply chain issues and key infrastructure system failures. [FCPA]
Tornados Becoming More of a Risk in D.C. Area — “While it has been 20 years since the La Plata disaster, its occurrence is a reminder that the D.C. region is vulnerable to devastating whirlwinds on par with those of famed tornado alleys in the Great Plains and Deep South. The D.C. region also sees much more frequent tornadoes of lesser strength.” [The Washington Post]
Consulting Firm Workers Help Clean Reston — “As part of Earth Day last week, employees from Virtual, Inc. picked up trash and helped to beautify the area surrounding their offices at 11130 Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston…Virtual is a professional services firm that works with associations and technology standards groups that are forming, growing and changing, according [to CEO Andy] Freed.” [Patch]
Registration Open for Hunter Mill Bicycle Tour — “Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn is hosting the 2nd annual Tour de Hunter Mill on Saturday, May 14, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event, including a five-mile family route and a 18-mile route, begins in the Town of Vienna at the Town Green, located at 144 Maple Ave. East.” [Hunter Mill District Office]
It’s Friday — Clear throughout the day. High of 62 and low of 38. Sunrise at 6:14 am and sunset at 8:01 pm. [Weather.gov]
A phrase that started as a basketball trick has translated into a social media empire and a restaurant for two Fairfax County natives.
Halal Wrist began as a clever maneuver of the hand that enabled Soufiane Bernoukh to make a perfect basketball shot. The trick shot was caught on video and soon went viral on TikTok and was coined “Halal Wrist.” Halal is an Islamic term that denotes permissibility.
A resident of the county’s Alexandria area, Bernoukh always dreamed of playing basketball in the NBA, and he played college ball at Ferrum College. His shot caught the eyes of major brands like the NBA, Foot Locker, Nike, and Reebok.
@soufs_videos Comment or Tag your TOP 5 Most Clutch NBA Players of all time‼️ @halal_wrist #fyp #for #halalwrist #basketball #clutch #nba
“It’s kind of always been the story of my life. I feel like I’ve always been the underdog, but I always use it as a positive thing because it pushed me to get to where I am today,” said Bernoukh, who aspires to become an actor and comedian.
In an unpredictable step, Bernoukh and Ayman Beshir, who used to play basketball together at recreation centers in the county, teamed up with a college friend to bring Halal Wrist into a different public space: a restaurant.
Halal Wrist, which offers bowls, wraps, wings, gyro and other items, opened at 3019 Georgia Avenue NW in D.C. in February.
“The restaurant is something we always talked about,” Bernoukh told FFXnow. “Having the name ‘Halal Wrist’ started off as a basketball brand but we always thought it would be really dope to have a halal restaurant one day, halal being the food and the wrist being a metaphor to cooking. It honestly happened way faster than we expected and we’re extremely blessed to be able to see it all come into fruition.”
The restaurant business is new to both men as well as a college friend who manages e-commerce for the brand.
Beshir wears “so many hats,” including Bernoukh’s manager and videographer, he says.
The friends hope to launch other locations once they establish their flagship site.
“We’re constantly thinking of ways to expand the brand and we’re really excited to announce a few other business ventures we plan on launching soon,” Beshir said.
An anonymous Instagram account that attacked LGBTQ students at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke has been shut down and the perpetrator identified, Principal Daniel W. Smith said in a message to the school community yesterday (Tuesday).
The now-deleted account surfaced Monday afternoon (March 7) with photos of students identified as members of the LGBTQ community and demeaning captions, screenshots show.
The bio said that the account was “owned and operated by the Lake Braddock Gimmick Association” and contained homophobic and transphobic language.
According to Smith, administrators worked with Lake Braddock’s cybersecurity team to get the account taken down and identify its creator, apparently a student.
“I am deeply troubled that any student at Lake Braddock feels that this is acceptable behavior. This is not the kind of school community we seek to cultivate,” Smith said, stating that “appropriate disciplinary action” will be taken in accordance with Fairfax County Public Schools policies.
While screenshots suggest the account had limited reach, it contributed to an unsafe school environment for LGBTQIA+ students, including intersex and asexual and agender individuals, the Pride Liberation Project — an advocacy group of queer and allied FCPS students — said in a statement released yesterday morning.
The group urged FCPS to take action by investigating the account, condemning it and making the consequences for harassment clear, and ensuring access to mental health supports for all students, particularly those at Lake Braddock.
FCPS has prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity since 2015. The school board adopted a regulation in July affirming transgender and gender-expansive students’ right to be identified by their chosen name and pronouns, and to use facilities that match their identity.
Even with those supportive policies, though, LGBTQIA+ students in FCPS continue to report “elevated” levels of harassment and bullying, Pride Liberation Project student leader Aaryan told FFXnow.
Fairfax County’s most recent annual youth survey, published in October 2020, found that of the 17% of teens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning, 21% reported experiencing bullying and 11% said they experienced cyberbullying — higher rates than those reported by non-LGBQ students.
“In general, FCPS LGBTQIA+ students have reported experiencing high levels of harassment at school, such as the frequent use of slurs,” the Pride Liberation Project said. “However, this is one of the most targeted attack[s] that has occurred against LGBTQIA+ students.”
Aaryan says the Instagram account also appeared at a time of “elevated rates of anxiety and stress” for many students amid a national wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, from Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and bans on transgender youth participating in sports to efforts to prohibit and criminalize gender confirmation surgery.
In his message, Smith said he will meet with LGBTQIA+ student groups this week “to listen, learn and continue the dialogue around their experiences in our school community.”
“I ask you to engage in a conversation with your student about our expectations for behavior that contributes to our shared vision here at Lake Braddock, and to continue these critical conversations about respect, kindness and acceptance in our community,” Smith said. “Our students can make a difference in this world by learning to embrace our differences instead of using them to divide us.”
Photo via Google Maps
