TikTok videos spark debate over public access to beaches

Two viral videos have sparked debate over when members of the public can access the beach and when homeowners can block them.

One of the incidents happened on Victoria Beach. A video a week ago posted on TikTok by Rosie Garcia was captioned “Karen on Laguna Beach extending the property to a public area… we were never on her her property at all.”

The video showed a woman yelling at a group of beachgoers.

“This is not an Instagram moment place. You're in my property, get moving now!” she said. “Now you're in my property line. Move it!”

Garcia told KTLA that she and her family were six feet away from the woman’s property and that the only reason they were close to the home was due to the high tide. She added that the woman roped off a larger section of the beach that was beyond the line that was already roped off.

Garcia added that she contacted the California Coastal Commission .

On Monday, another incident was posted on TikTok. This time, it happened in Malibu and was posted by user, shadymainstreammedialiar .
The video showed a sign that read “PRIVATE PROPERTY. This beach area is on private lots. Trespassers will be prosecuted. Public access along mean high tide line.”

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“One big a** lie,” the user who took the video is heard saying. “Private? This ain’t private bro. This is the sand. This is free land. Anybody can be here.”

The video went on to show an altercation between the TikToker and another man. The man was seen pushing the phone away before eventually walking away.

Sarah Christie, a spokeswoman for the agency, told the Los Angeles Times that the agency was investigating both videos.

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