Story perspectives

Ofcom to curb TikTok after deadly A66 crash footage

8/24/2026

Center

Police Tragedy

Two police officers and five youths died when a wrong-way car hit a police response vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough Saturday.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham called sharing reckless-driving footage “truly reprehensible”, and a Downing Street spokeswoman called it “utterly disgraceful”.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard told Breakfast platforms can delete dangerous-driving videos and tweak algorithms.
Ofcom said it will use Act powers to curb exposure and is probing TikTok’s compliance.

Left

Police Fatal Crash

Two police officers and five youths died when a wrong-way car crashed into a police response vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough on Saturday.
After a seven-minute pursuit, the driver turned against traffic, forcing officers to abort the chase.
Investigators believe the Passat used cloned licence plates.
TikTok said it bans and removes dangerous-driving videos, denying that the service endangers children.

Blindspot

Investigators said the Volkswagen Passat that collided with the police vehicle was operating with cloned licence plates.
Police reported they pursued the Passat for seven minutes before the driver turned against traffic, leading officers to abort the chase.
Within this story's sources, this investigative detail appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

1 of 3

Police Tragedy

Two police officers and five youths died when a wrong-way car hit a police response vehicle on the A66 near Middlesbrough Saturday.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham called sharing reckless-driving footage “truly reprehensible”, and a Downing Street spokeswoman called it “utterly disgraceful”.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard told Breakfast platforms can delete dangerous-driving videos and tweak algorithms.
Ofcom said it will use Act powers to curb exposure and is probing TikTok’s compliance.

1 / 3