Minister tells social media firms to take down dangerous driving content in wake of fatal A66 crash in Middlesborough – UK politics live

The UK government has issued a stern warning to social media companies, demanding the immediate removal of content that glorifies dangerous driving. This action follows a tragic incident over the weekend where a car traveling the wrong way down a dual carriageway collided with a police vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough, resulting in seven fatalities.

“

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.

Among the deceased were two police officers. Reports suggest that at least one of the young men involved in the collision had previously participated in filming dangerous driving stunts for TikTok videos. In response, Defence Minister Luke Pollard stated that social media platforms must take down this content or face government intervention.

“

I think we all need to give the police time, but 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.

Pollard urged social media companies to step up and demonstrate their ability to self-regulate, a claim they have used to argue against stricter regulations. He emphasized that the internet should be a safer place and that platforms should not incentivize the creation of dangerous content. The minister's comments were made during an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live.

“

I want to see social media companies step up. It’s one of the reasons they’ve argued against some of the regulations, saying they can police themselves. Well this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate it. Remove the content that celebrates dangerous behaviour on our roads.

The issue of lax social media regulation concerning dangerous driving content gained prominence after a similar incident in Ireland, where five teenagers died in a head-on collision caused by a car driving the wrong way on a motorway. In that case, authorities noted that some drivers engaged in such behavior for social media engagement.

“

horrific