UK regulator orders social media firms to adopt measures to stop viral illegal content

Sites will have to have a ‘crisis protocol’ to intervene when the sharing of dangerous content spikes. Photograph: Chesnot/Getty Images

Social media companies have been ordered to have emergency measures in place to stop illegal content going viral, as regulators battle to stop the type of misinformation spiral that circulated after the 2024 summer riots.

Sites such as X, formerly Twitter, and TikTok will have to have a “crisis protocol” in place to intervene when the sharing of dangerous content begins to rise.