Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has announced that social media platforms will be forced to remove posts that incite violence during “times of crisis”. Kendall stated that an update to the Online Safety Act requiring social media companies to take swift action over illegal content fuelling disorder will be put before parliament as early as next week.  

She said: “Those who use social media to incite violence and disorder are breaking the law. I have explicitly asked Ofcom to discuss urgently with X and other platforms how they will comply with the Online Safety Act.” 

This move will give Ofcom power to impose harsh penalties on platforms that do not take active steps to remove harmful content. This includes giving Ofcom the ability to fine tech companies up to 10 percent of their global revenue and even bring criminal prosecutions against executives in the most serious cases. Moreover, it will be expected that social media giants will activate ‘crisis response teams’ and establish dedicated channels of communication with the police when necessary.  

In a statement to social media firms, Ofcom said: “During a crisis, certain kinds of illegal content and/or content harmful to children can spread rapidly online. In some cases, this can create significant risks to public safety in the UK. 

“Evidence from previous crises has shown how perpetrators use online services in a variety of ways to carry out illegal activity such as inciting racial or religious hatred, making threats, or inciting violence. Not only can this lead to an increase in the amount of illegal content circulating online but it can result in violence offline.” 

This statement has come after criticism over the role of social media in this week’s riots in Belfast. The riots started after a stabbing on Monday night outside a block of flats in the capital. The victim, Stephen Ogilvie, lost his left eye and had deep lacerations to his face. A kitchen knife was recovered from the scene.  

Elon Musk, tech giant and owner of X, has come under fire after calling for people to take to the streets in response to Mondays knife attack.  

Shannon Doherty, of the human rights group the Committee on the Administration of Justice, said: “Those attending protests, organising events and mobilising communities appear, in the main, to be locally based. However, the narratives, tactics and intensity of mobilisation are increasingly shaped by actors and events beyond Northern Ireland.” 

She added: “This dynamic has been visible in the aftermath of the recent Belfast stabbing, with British far-right actors, including Tommy Robinson, amplifying related disorder.”