TikTok star Sabrina Bahsoon, known to many as ‘Tube Girl’, was warned earlier this year by Transport for London (TfL) about filming ‘commercial’ videos on their property, the Standard can reveal.
Ms Bahsoon, who has 800,000 TikTok followers, appears to have stopped filming ‘paid partnership’ videos on the Underground since her agents were contacted by the transport authority at the start of this year.
‘Tube Girl’ first went viral on the social media app in August 2023, when Ms Bahsoon became known for her care-free dancing and her ingenious use of open carriage windows to create a ‘wind machine’ effect on her hair.
As her following boomed however, Ms Bahsoon began to make some videos “in partnership” with luxury brands.
In October 2023, the influencer modelled various jewellery and accessories from Tiffany & Co, in a video captioned ‘From Tube Girl to Tiffany Girl’. Two months later, she used the platforms at Pimlico station as a catwalk for her to show off different Hugo Boss outfits. Both videos were labelled by Ms Bahsoon as “paid partnerships”, in line with TikTok rules.
But TfL grew concerned that these videos were in breach of their “conditions of carriage”, which state that, while on TfL property, all passengers “must not undertake filming or photography for commercial purposes without the express permission of TfL”.
A TfL spokesman said: “We're pleased that some customers enjoy our services so much that they are moved to share their experiences via social media, but when this stops being personal videos, and becomes an organised commercial endeavour, we understandably need to ensure it is done properly and agree commercial terms.
“This helps ensure filming is safe, protects our intellectual property and provides revenue that is reinvested in the transport network for the benefit of everyone. We contacted Sabrina Bahsoon’s agent earlier this year to explore the possibilities.”
TfL’s view was that Ms Bahsoon should either stop making ‘commercial’ videos on their network, or that if she continued making them, an agreement must be reached for TfL to receive a share of any income she received from them.
Ms Bahsoon’s agents were approached for comment by the Standard, but did not respond. However, the evidence from her TikTok feed would suggest that she has since stopped filming commercial content on the TfL network.
