UK urges TikTok to delete videos that promote dangerous driving after fatal crash
The British government has asked TikTok and other platforms to remove content that celebrates risky driving, following a crash that killed two police officers and five young men.
Britain’s government on Monday called on TikTok and other social-media services to take down viral videos that glorify dangerous driving after a fatal wrong-way crash in northeastern England killed two police officers and five young men. The collision involved a Volkswagen with a cloned number plate, and police said 12 people were arrested in connection with related criminal activity.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC that the government has asked platforms to "step up" and remove such "awful content," adding that the incident provides an opportunity to demonstrate that platforms can police themselves. The office of Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the glorification of dangerous driving for entertainment as "utterly disgraceful" and said the media regulator has full government backing to act against non-compliant platforms.
TikTok said its policies prohibit content that could cause significant physical harm, but did not provide a comment on the specific request. The incident follows similar concerns in Ireland, where a wrong-way crash killed five teenagers and injured several others, prompting an Irish parliamentary committee to invite TikTok to discuss its handling of content that glorifies illegal activity.