UK minister urges social media firms to remove dangerous driving videos

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has urged social media firms to remove posts celebrating dangerous driving, following a viral trend of people driving the wrong way down roads. Two police officers tragically lost their lives when a car travelling the wrong way collided with their vehicle near Middlesbrough on Saturday, causing the deaths of five passengers in the other car.

A TikTok account linked to one of the deceased, 18-year-old Makai Saddington, shared videos showing dangerous driving, which have since been taken down. Pollard stated that the government has already taken steps to instruct social media companies to remove such content, emphasizing that these companies are aware of the content on their platforms and the financial incentives for posting outrageous content to garner views.

A Downing Street spokesperson condemned the glorification of dangerous driving, with the culture secretary confirming that footage should be removed by social media platforms in accordance with their legal obligations and Ofcom's support. While TikTok prohibits content that could cause significant physical harm, including dangerous driving, it is up to the platform to decide if flagged content is illegal and act accordingly.

The Online Safety Act sets specific exceptions, making interpretation difficult. Despite TikTok's proactive removal of content violating its policies, not all videos are taken down due to breaches of the platform's terms and conditions.