Government Demands TikTok Remove Dangerous Driving Content After Fatal A66 Crash
Two police officers and five others died in early Saturday collision; social media platforms face scrutiny over content glorifying reckless behaviour.
Sarah Connor
A devastating crash on the A66 early Saturday morning claimed the lives of two police officers and five other individuals.
TikTok and other platforms must remove content depicting the perilous trend of driving the wrong way down roads.
Luke Pollard asserted that social media platforms have long championed self-policing. "Well this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate it," he stated, "Remove the content that celebrates dangerous behaviour on our roads."
Pollard confirmed direct communication. "We’ve communicated to those social media platforms that have been hosting content that celebrates this type of dangerous behaviour on our roads to take down that content."
I want to see social media companies step up.
He demanded greater accountability. "I want to see social media companies step up."
A TikTok account, believed to belong to 18-year-old Malakai Saddington, one of the passengers killed, reportedly shared videos appearing to show dangerous driving; these have since been removed.
Court records indicate Saddington was awaiting trial for alleged assault of a police officer and causing racially aggravated alarm or distress.
Pc Blades was married with two young sons. Pc Clough, a father-of-two, served with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary from 2013 to 2018.
A fundraiser for the officers' families had raised over £250,000.
The incident occurred shortly after a similar fatal crash in Ireland involving a car driving the wrong way on a motorway. Two tragedies in the space of a few days resulted in 12 deaths.
Online safety regulator Ofcom is investigating TikTok's compliance with child safety duties and has the power to take action under the Online Safety Act.
Ofcom stated, "Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must minimise children’s exposure to violent material and content promoting dangerous challenges."
Ofcom further noted, "In July, we launched an investigation into TikTok’s compliance with its child safety duties, and we’ve shown we’ll take action if evidence suggests companies are falling short."
TikTok declined an invitation to appear before an Irish parliamentary committee on media to discuss videos, citing an ongoing police investigation.
Matt Storey emphasized the critical need for driver focus. "Without being able to say whether that was anything like involved in this case, it’s absolutely idiotic for anybody to be doing anything other than being completely 100% focused on the road when they’re behind the wheel of a vehicle."
Dangerous driving content has become a recurring issue. A motorcyclist reportedly posted a video on Instagram showing dangerous stunts and high-speed driving, captioned 'If I die, just know I sounded like this.', which garnered over 155,000 likes.
John Scott was jailed for three years and nine months for filming himself speeding at 119mph while serving a five-year driving ban.
George Taylor received a 26-month jail sentence after filming himself driving with his knees before crashing into a stationary vehicle, leaving Catherine Davies paralyzed.
Pollard concluded that while investigations proceed, "there’s also things we can be doing in the meantime to make sure that the internet is a safer place for everyone, that doesn’t celebrate and load views and therefore financial incentives on people to generate such awful content."
He affirmed that "While that content is online, the government will be using the powers in the Online Safety Act to compel the platforms to take it down."