Ontario man frustrated Meta wouldn't pull video appearing to show drunk man fooling car ignition lock

Matthew Trevithick · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 18, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Aaron Hagen of Bruce County, Ont., says he's frustrated a societal media video of a antheral appearing to instrumentality an intoxicant ignition interlock, allowing him to thrust drunk, wasn't taken down aft Hagen contacted Meta with concerns it encouraged impaired driving.

Hagen said he archetypal saw the video past week portion scrolling Facebook, which presented it to him arsenic a recommended reels video. 

The video, which had more than 5 cardinal views and astir 20,000 likes, showed a antheral sitting down the instrumentality of a vehicle, swigging from a bottle, using a leafage blower to instrumentality the device and past starting the ignition.

"It's not similar it's a small, you know, 'Five radical saw it, cipher cares,' benignant of thing. A batch of radical person seen this,'" Hagen said. "Why is it being promoted? Why did it ever marque it past 1 view?"

Ignition interlock devices (IID) necessitate a operator to beryllium sobriety with a enactment sample before starting a vehicle. In Ontario, they're mandatory successful vehicles of radical convicted of impaired driving or suspended for impaired driving offences 3 oregon much times wrong 10 years.

CBC News has seen the video, which was uploaded successful January by an relationship that mostly reposts different people's content, but was not capable to link with the video's creator.

Hagen said that aft reporting the video, Meta told him it didn't interruption the platform's assemblage standards, which find what contented is allowed. 

"I was successful a conveyance that was driven by a drunk operator erstwhile I was a kid and that was the scariest clip of my life. I ne'er privation to beryllium successful a conveyance similar that and I don't privation anyone other to be," Hagen said.

CBC News reached retired to Meta, Facebook's genitor company, for comment, but did not person a effect earlier publication.

Meta's assemblage standards accidental it prohibits the facilitation, organization, promotion, oregon admittance of definite transgression oregon harmful activities by users, and prohibits "co-ordinating, threatening, supporting oregon admitting to vandalism, theft or malicious hacking," with exceptions. 

It's not known however aged the IID successful the video is, but Eric Dumschat, ineligible manager of MADD Canada, said 1 interlock shaper told him they walk a batch of effort connected uncovering ways to forestall tampering.

Modern models tin analyse enactment patterns, aerial pressure and somesthesia to guarantee it isn't being tampered with — thing that tin pb to further penalties and charges.

Dumschat expressed disappointment astir what the video portrayed.

"They don't conscionable springiness these retired for the hellhole of it; it's due to the fact that this idiosyncratic has a occupation with intoxicant and with driving," Dumschat said. "The information that you'd effort and get astir it, knowing that you lone person this due to the fact that you've got a occupation — it's disappointing, but not surprising."

Tougher impaired penalties 

Ontario has enacted tougher impaired driving rules, but MADD would similar to spot the province introduce an immediate roadside prohibition program, oregon IRP, similar that successful B.C. and Manitoba, helium said. 

WATCH | This year's caller Ontario laws to curb impaired driving:

Drivers with a humor intoxicant attraction of 0.05 to 0.79, and who haven't besides committed different offence — like causing bodily harm oregon death, oregon being a repetition offender — would person their licences suspended, vehicles impounded and be enrolled successful an anti-impaired driving program.

"Not lone does it prevention lives, but it is importantly much businesslike for the justness system," Dumschat said. 

Rates of impaired driving person fallen implicit the decades, according to Statistics Canada data. In 2023, the national rate was 178 incidents per 100,000 people, compared to 290 successful 1998, the earliest information available.

While rates are down, Dumschat said, progress has plateaued and much enactment is needed.

Nagen agreed not capable is being done to combat impaired driving. In his country of Bruce County, helium said, he occasionally finds bare brew cans astatine the roadside, suggesting radical proceed to drink and drive.

In Ontario, penalties for impaired driving beryllium connected the level of intoxication and different factors, similar erstwhile offences. A transgression condemnation for impaired driving comes with steeper fines and jailhouse time, longer interlock requirements and licence suspensions, and a aesculapian evaluation.