UK defence minister pushes platforms to delete videos glorifying dangerous driving

Defence Minister Luke Pollard called on social-media companies to strip away content that glorifies hazardous driving, citing a recent crash where a car travelling the wrong way on a dual carriageway near Middlesbrough struck a police response vehicle, killing officers PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades along with five passengers. Among the victims was 18-year-old Malakai Saddington, whose TikTok account posted videos of the pursuit and a separate joy-ride before the clips were removed.

Pollard argued that platforms know what appears on their sites and can alter algorithms to prevent such content from gaining views and revenue. TikTok affirmed that its rules forbid material that could cause serious physical harm and reported that 99.8% of policy-violating items were proactively taken down in early 2026. The minister said the government will invoke the Online Safety Act to force removal of remaining offending posts, while Ofcom warned that platforms must minimise children’s exposure to dangerous challenges. One outlet has also sought comments from Meta and X on the issue.