How social media posts and filming in your cab can put taxi and private hire licences at risk
- Perry Richardson
- 7 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Drivers are increasingly sharing clips and commentary from their work on social media. Local licensing rules make plain that posting journey footage is not a harmless upload. It can cost you your licence.
City of Wolverhampton Council’s Taxi CCTV Policy states that uploading CCTV or dashcam footage to social media does not have a lawful basis and expressly prohibited. The Council warns that doing so may lead to criminal prosecution and will be treated as a breach of policy that can trigger a licence review. The guidance names YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) as examples.
The council’s policy sets strict data duties on licence holders. The vehicle licence holder is the Data Controller and must be registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, display signage naming the Data Controller and ICO registration number, and store recordings securely. Footage should be deleted after 31 days and only shared when there is a lawful reason such as a police request, a licensing investigation or a valid Subject Access Request. Social media is not a lawful route.
Licensing decisions do not rely only on criminal convictions. Fitness and propriety guidelines allow the authority to consider the whole character of an applicant or licensee, including non-conviction information and behaviour, on the balance of probabilities. Online conduct can therefore be weighed when deciding whether someone remains fit and proper to hold a licence.
Driver conduct rules also matter. Conditions require drivers to behave in a civil and orderly manner and not use offensive or discriminatory language. Where conduct falls below the standards expected, sanctions can include suspension or revocation. Content posted online that breaches these standards could be treated as misconduct.
There are reporting duties too. Drivers must notify the licensing authority within 48 hours of arrests, investigations, fixed penalties, notices of intended prosecution, licence points or disqualifications. If a social media post leads to police action or regulatory scrutiny, you must report it promptly. Failure to disclose can itself lead to enforcement.
It is recommended that if you capture a suspected driving offence on a dashcam, send it to the police using the established reporting routes rather than posting it publicly.
How does Wolverhampton’s social media rules stack up across the UK?
Transport for London recently issued a sector-wide notice on social media behaviour. TfL warns that abusive or harassing conduct on social platforms may lead to compliance action, including licensing consequences.
Newcastle’s adopted policy mirrors Wolverhampton on postings. It states that uploading footage to social media has no lawful basis and is expressly prohibited, using the same platform examples.
North Northamptonshire reaches the same conclusion. Its CCTV policy prohibits social media uploads and stresses that only lawful requests justify sharing. The council also records that mandating CCTV is not proportionate, so systems remain voluntary but regulated.
Manchester focuses on technical control. The city runs an approval scheme that requires written consent before installing in-vehicle CCTV and keeps an approved systems list. While its public pages emphasise approvals rather than explicit social media clauses, ICO rules still govern any sharing.
National frameworks back these approaches. The Department for Transport’s Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards allow licensing teams to consider wider conduct when assessing whether a person remains fit and proper. The ICO’s guidance says businesses using dashcams must justify recording, inform people, handle footage responsibly and rely on a proper lawful basis. Those duties cut against casual posting online.
