The Government has urged TikTok and other social media platforms to remove videos glamorising wrong-way driving, after it emerged that one of the people killed in the A66 crash had posted clips of himself speeding in police chases.
Two police officers and five people travelling in a Volkswagen Passat died when the car, driving the wrong way along the A66 in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, collided with a marked police vehicle in the early hours of Saturday. It was one of the deadliest single incidents on a British road in recent memory.
Defence minister Luke Pollard told BBC Radio 5 Live that platforms hosting content “celebrating dangerous behaviour on our roads” must take it down. “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,” he said, adding that the Government would use powers in the Online Safety Act to compel removal where needed.
It emerged over the weekend that at least one of the Passat passengers is believed to have previously posted TikTok videos of himself recklessly speeding — in one, an 18-year-old is seen being driven at speed through a housing estate as a police car’s blue lights flash in pursuit. Mr Pollard warned that users can earn money for racking up views on such content, creating “a financial incentive for people to post outrageous content.”
Ofcom, the media regulator, said platforms must minimise children’s exposure to violent material and content promoting dangerous challenges, and confirmed it launched an investigation into TikTok’s child-safety compliance in July. “We’ve shown we’ll take action if evidence suggests companies are falling short,” a spokesman said.
The victims were named as PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who were in the police car, and Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, Jacob Matusiak, 23, and Makai Saddington, 18, who were in the Passat. Cleveland Police said Family Liaison Officers are supporting the families of all those who died.
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The Independent Office for Police Conduct is examining the circumstances of the pursuit, which the watchdog said had ended before the crash, with the police vehicle said to have been in the South Bank area at the time of the collision.
Source: BBC, Daily Mirror, Sky News. Rewrite for Your News Website.
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