UK minister urges social media firms to remove dangerous driving videos
UK Defence Minister Luke Pollard has urged social media companies to remove content that promotes dangerous driving following a fatal crash. The call comes after a viral trend involving wrong-way driving led to a collision that killed two police officers and five others.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing tension between government regulation of social media content and the responsibility of tech platforms to curb harmful viral trends.
Image source, Reuters By Alex Smith Published 24 August 2026, 10:42 BST Updated 12 minutes ago Defence Minister Luke Pollard has called on social media companies to remove posts celebrating dangerous driving, after a viral trend showing people going the wrong way down roads.
Pollard told BBC Breakfast on Monday: "Social media companies could take that down today, adjust their algorithms so it's not celebrated."
Two police officers died when a car going the wrong way down a dual carriageway crashed into their vehicle near Middlesbrough on Saturday. The five passengers in the other car were also killed.
A TikTok account believed to belong to one of the five passengers, 18-year-old Malakai Saddington, shared videos appearing to show dangerous driving, which have since been removed.
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