Recent rioting and unrest in the UK has led to calls for the Online Safety Act to be revisited. Mayor Sadiq Khan has called it “not fit for purpose” and Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas Symonds suggested that the government could change the law, which was passed under the previous government and includes a raft of measures relevant to the recent riots, including powers to fine social media companies.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been less forthcoming about the act and has said only that he would “look more broadly at social media after this disorder”. His spokesperson suggested the act was not under active review.
In practical terms, social media played a key role in the widespread coordination of events in locations across the country. Online platforms have also served as a vehicle through which misinformation and hateful rhetoric has spread.
