As riots raged across the UK, Elon Musk began making inflammatory comments about the situation, including stating: “Civil war is inevitable”. Musk is the owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as X.
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LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership comes after misinformation sparked a series of anti-immigration protests and X owner Elon Musk made inflammatory comments in a post viewed by millions. The Labor government is considering ways to strengthen regulation of cyber security in the UK.
Two industry sources with knowledge of the matter told CNBC that Labor is considering changes to the government following the events of the past two weeks. Cyber Security Law – Legislation requiring tech giants to prevent the spread of illegal and harmful content on their platforms.
The sources were not authorized to speak publicly about the proposed changes because conversations surrounding the revised online safety law are ongoing.
Senior officials have commented recently that the government may review the Cybersecurity Law to more severely combat disinformation, hate speech and incitement to violence.
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told CNBC sister network Sky News: “Obviously, there are aspects of the Cyber Security Act that have not yet taken effect. We stand ready to make changes if necessary. “
Media and telecoms regulator Ofcom Unable to take action against social media platform Because the legislation is not yet fully in effect, hate speech and other content that violates the law is allowed.
What exactly is the Cybersecurity Law? What does this mean for tech companies like Elon Musk’s X? CNBC has you covered with everything you need to know.
What is the Cybersecurity Law?
The Online Safety Bill is a landmark piece of legislation in the UK that aims to force social networks and video streaming companies to remove illegal content from their platforms.
The regulations include new duties requiring technology companies to proactively identify, mitigate and manage the risk of harm caused by such material appearing on their platforms.
There are several examples of content that, if reported, could subject the company to criminal sanctions. These include child sexual abuse, fraud, racially or religiously serious crimes, incitement to violence and terrorism.
Once the rules come into effect, Ofcom will have the power to impose fines of up to 10% of global annual revenue on non-compliant companies. If violations are repeated, individual executives may even face jail time.
Ofcom said the new tariffs on technology companies would not fully come into effect until a consultation on corporate codes of conduct is completed in 2025.
Why are there calls for the law to be changed?
Two weeks ago, a 17-year-old knifeman attacked several children attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, England. Three girls were killed in the attack.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, social media users were quick to mistakenly identify the perpetrator as an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023.
Posts on X sharing the perpetrator’s pseudonym were actively retweeted and viewed by millions of people. This in turn helped Sparking far-right anti-immigration protestsWhat followed turned violent, with shops and mosques attacked and bricks and petrol bombs thrown.
Riot police stop protesters near a burning police car after riots in Southport, England, on July 30, 2024. Riots spread across England and Northern Ireland after a fatal stabbing attack in Southport sparked violent protests amid rumors about the 17-year-old suspect’s identity.
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As the riots intensified, Musk, who owns X, began to comment on the situation in the UK. He suggested that the riots could eventually lead to civil war, saying in the Condemned by the British Government.
When asked about Musk’s comments at a press conference, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said there was “no justification” for such comments.
Musk also shared an image of a fake headline that appeared to be from the Daily Telegraph website, falsely claiming that the UK was building “internment camps” for rioters in the Falkland Islands. He has since deleted it.
On August 4, 2024, Rotherham, England, riot police drove away anti-immigration protesters outside
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The incidents have sparked calls for the government to review the Cybersecurity Bill to ensure it is implemented more quickly and to put in place provisions to ensure more effective prevention of such incidents in the future.
How can the law be changed?
So far, it’s unclear how — or even when — the Cybersecurity Law will be revisited. An industry source told CNBC that the government is “trying to understand what happened over the past few days and focus on responses.”
“I don’t think there’s been a lot of policy thinking going on here,” the source added.
The government may consider new measures against disinformation, among a number of other options, but it has yet to reach any “concrete views” on how to change the legislation.
Another industry source said the government may only review the legislation after it comes into force, possibly in spring 2025. Way. “This is by no means an easy problem to solve. It’s very difficult to do.”
The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, which oversees cybersecurity regulations, had no immediate comment when contacted by CNBC on Wednesday.
It is also worth noting that Labor has pledged to strengthen the Cyber Security Act in its election manifesto. Supporters of censorship say the bill needs to be more stringent on social media platforms to ensure they respond robustly to misinformation, hate speech and incitement to violence.
“I think what the government should do as quickly as possible is check whether it is fit for purpose. I don’t think it is fit for purpose,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan told the Guardian last week.
Joe Ondrak, director of research and technology at British technology company Logically, told CNBC that some aspects of the Online Safety Act address the problem of misinformation, but they are far from perfect.
Ondrak told CNBC that while the law “does have some very specific provisions for some of these types of disinformation,” including disinformation spread by foreign state actors, it “doesn’t really comprehensively cover domestic disinformation.” .
—CNBC’s Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this report
