The UK’s Internet regulator, Ofcom, has issued an open letter to social media platforms expressing concerns about the use of these platforms to incite violence. This action follows several days of violent civil unrest in various locations across the UK, which occurred after the murder of three girls in a stabbing attack in Southport on July 30.
Ofcom has the authority to sanction video platforms that fail to protect their users from content that incites violence or hatred. Under the new UK Online Safety Act (OSA), Ofcom’s powers have been expanded to cover all platforms, including social media services.
The sanctions established by the OSA can reach up to 10% of a company’s annual global revenue, giving Ofcom significant tools to address serious content moderation failures.
However, Ofcom is still in the process of implementing this regime. It is not expected that the regulations will be effectively applied to social media platforms before 2025, as the regulator continues to consult on the guidelines that companies must follow to comply with the law.
Parliament must also approve these rules before their implementation. Currently, there is no clear legal pathway for Ofcom to compel social media to address hateful behavior that may be causing violent social unrest.
In recent days, there have been calls to expedite Ofcom’s compliance timeline due to the civil unrest and for the regulator to take a more proactive stance against social media giants.
In a statement on BBC Radio 4’s World at One program, former minister Damian Collins urged Ofcom to “warn tech companies.” “Communications on social media platforms that incite violence and generate fear in people are already regulated offenses under the Act,” Collins said. “Ofcom must warn tech companies that they will be audited to verify how they are curbing the spread of extremist content and misinformation.”
Concerns about the role of social media, including Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), quickly arose due to the spread of misinformation about the identity of the minor responsible for the murder of the three girls.
Initially, UK media outlets were prohibited from reporting on the suspect’s identity because he was under 18. A judge later lifted the restriction and identified the teenager as Axel Rudakubana, but not before right-wing activists used platforms like X to falsely claim that the murderer was a Muslim asylum seeker.
Activists also used social media and messaging apps like Telegram to organize new riots. The first violent riot occurred in Southport the day after the murders. Since then, riots have spread to several cities in England and Northern Ireland, including looting, arson, and racist attacks. Several police officers were injured in the clashes.
Musk personally intervened, interacting with content posted on X by right-wing influencers using the tragedy to promote a divisive political agenda. This includes Tommy Robinson, whose X account was reinstated last year after being banned in 2018 for violating the platform’s hate conduct policies.
In one of his posts, Musk suggested that “civil war is inevitable.” In another, he attacked UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, insinuating that his government is responsible for the so-called “two-tier policing,” a right-wing conspiracy theory.
Ministers have dismissed Musk’s claims and labeled the individuals involved in the riots as “thugs” engaging in “criminal acts.” The government has promised to apply the full force of the law to those involved, but the complex issue of how to handle major tech platforms used to spread content inciting violence and organizing new riots, specifically X, remains.
Ofcom’s public letter, signed by Gill Whitehead, its online safety director, represents the lowest level of regulatory intervention, lacking a strong call to action. It merely suggests that platforms “can act now.”
Ofcom expects to publish its final codes of practice and guidance later this year. Regulated services will have three months to assess the risk of illegal content and then must take appropriate measures to quickly remove it when detected.
“Some of the most widely used online sites and apps will need to go further over time, consistently applying their terms of service, which often prohibit hate speech, incitement to violence, and harmful misinformation,” continues Ofcom’s letter, highlighting the duties that social media will have to fulfill once the OSA is fully operational.
Ofcom expects a “continuous commitment” from companies during the OSA implementation period and welcomes proactive approaches some services have taken regarding acts of violence in the UK, suggesting that platforms should not wait for the “new safety obligations” to take effect but act now to make their services “safer for users.”
Without a fully implemented regime forcing platforms to improve their practices, Ofcom’s letter may be too easy to ignore for certain chaos promoters.
By: Nestor Castillo, ForAllTechNews Director
Photo License details: Creator: Lars Plougmann / Copyright: Creative Commons BY-SA