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UK minister urges social media platforms to remove videos promoting dangerous driving

Defence Minister Luke Pollard warned that the government will enforce Online Safety Act powers if social media platforms fail to take down content celebrating road stunts following a fatal collision.

Updated Aug 24, 2026 · 11:42 UTC2 reports

The short version

  • UK Defence Minister Luke Pollard called on social media platforms to immediately remove content that glorifies dangerous driving and adjust their algorithms to stop promoting it.
  • The demand follows an A66 crash near Middlesbrough that killed seven people, including two police officers and five young men in a car driving against traffic.
  • TikTok stated its policies prohibit content that risks physical harm and that it proactively removes rule-breaking posts, while media regulator Ofcom noted ongoing enforcement under the Online Safety Act.
  • The government indicated it will use legislative powers under the Online Safety Act to compel platforms to remove non-compliant content if they do not self-regulate.

Key facts

  • Seven people—including police officers PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades, and five young men aged 17 to 23—died on Saturday in a head-on collision on the A66 near Middlesbrough.[The Guardian · BBC News]
  • Police had chased the Volkswagen Passat for seven minutes after reports of multiple incidents, but aborted the pursuit when the car began driving the wrong way down the dual carriageway roughly ten seconds before the impact.[The Guardian]
  • Defence Minister Luke Pollard stated the UK government will use enforcement mechanisms within the Online Safety Act if platforms do not voluntarily take down videos promoting reckless driving.[The Guardian · BBC News]
  • Communications regulator Ofcom confirmed that social media platforms are legally required under the Online Safety Act to restrict children's exposure to dangerous challenges, noting an existing investigation launched into TikTok in July.[The Guardian · BBC News]
  • TikTok stated that its rules forbid material causing physical harm, including reckless driving, and reported taking down 99.8% of violating content proactively between January and March 2026.[The Guardian · BBC News]

What remains uncertain

  • The extent to which viral social media trends directly influenced the drivers involved in the A66 crash remains under investigation by police and regulators.[The Guardian · BBC News]

Sources