British government demands removal of dangerous driving videos on TikTok after fatal accidents

The UK government has intensified pressure on major digital platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, demanding the immediate removal of content that encourages dangerous driving and speeding. Institutional demand has increased, due to two tragic accidents that resulted in the death of seven people in severe collisions caused by vehicles traveling the wrong way on highways in England and Ireland, generating strong public commotion and broad mobilization of local authorities and competent media regulatory bodies.

On social media, several posts show drivers at extreme speeds and use wide-ranging hashtags, such as #speedhunters, accumulating millions of views and strong daily digital engagement. High-ranking representatives of the British government have classified the romanticization and exposure of this reckless behavior in entertainment clips as absolutely shameful and morally unacceptable conduct.

Investigations conducted by local police authorities indicate that some of the young people who lost their lives in recent incidents had already shared their own records of risky driving on the internet. Given the seriousness of the situation, regulatory bodies have demanded detailed reports from technology companies on the mechanisms for control, inspection and rapid removal of materials aimed at these dangerous traffic practices.

In response to government demands, TikTok said it removes accounts and videos that violate its safety guidelines, noting that it expressly prohibits content that encourages dangerous activities that can be imitated and serious bodily harm. Similarly, Meta, Instagram’s parent company, stated that it prohibits the promotion or encouragement of participation in high-risk viral challenges, including dangerous driving in the wrong direction. Despite the official guidelines of the companies, publications alluding to these conducts continued to be sporadically located in circulation on the networks.