In response to recent unrest, the British government plans to tighten regulations on the distribution of illegal online content. CNBC Report citing two industry sources.

The Online Safety Act, enacted in October 2023, requires technology companies to remove illegal and harmful content from their platforms.

Failure to comply could result in fines from the media regulator Ofcom and senior managers could face prison sentences. Following a recent statement by US entrepreneur Elon Musk on the situation in Great Britain, discussions are currently underway about revising the law.

Musk and several other critics accused the government of restricting freedom of expression and operating a “two-tier legal system” in which white British suspects are punished more harshly than immigrants.

“It really does seem like there is an unequal justice in the UK,” Musk said on X alongside a series of memes comparing newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer to a Nazi officer and the British government to George Orwell’s totalitarian dictatorship “1984.”

Shortly before, the head of London’s Metropolitan Police had threatened to charge foreigners with “incitement to hatred” on the Internet in the wake of the ongoing right-wing extremist and Islamophobic protests in Great Britain. Billionaire and X owner Elon Musk is facing possible prosecution.

“We will confront people with the full force of the law. And whether you commit crimes on the streets in this country or commit crimes remotely online, we will pursue you,” said Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley Sky News on Friday.

The commissioner added that “even if you’re a keyboard warrior, you’re not safe from the law” and named “people like Elon Musk” as possible targets for investigation when asked about charging people on social media who live outside the UK.

As of Friday, more than 700 people have been arrested, over 300 have been charged with alleged involvement in the anti-Islam riots and over 30 have been charged with online crimes. These offenses consist of sharing footage of the ongoing violent unrest or posting content that prosecutors describe as inciting “violence or hatred.”

“Legal but harmful” online content

The Telegraph reported on Friday that Starmer may amend Britain’s Online Safety Act to prosecute social media companies that facilitate the spread of “legal but harmful” content.

The clause was originally intended to be passed by the former Conservative government, but was withdrawn after it sparked strong reactions from Minister of Economic Affairs and Trade Kemi Badenoch, who criticised the bill as “legislation designed to hurt feelings”.

Elon Musk spreads false news that English rioters will be sent to the Falkland Islands

Elon Musk shared a fake article that falsely To The Telegraphand claimed that Keir Starmer was considering sending far-right rioters to “emergency detention camps” in the Falkland Islands.

Musk deleted his post after about 30 minutes, but before it was removed, a screenshot of Politics.co.uk showed that it had nearly two million views.

The post included an image shared by Ashlea Simon, co-chair of the far-right group Britain First, with the caption “We are all being deported to the Falkland Islands.”

The fictitious article, which is designed to appear as if it was written by a high-ranking telegraph The reporter falsely claimed that the Falkland Islands camps were being used to hold prisoners from the ongoing unrest caused by overcrowding in the British prison system.

The Telegraph confirmed last Thursday that the article was never published, stating: “This is a fabricated headline for an article that does not exist. We have notified the relevant platforms and asked them to remove the post.”

The newspaper said in an article on X that it was “aware of an image circulating on X that allegedly shows a telegraph Article about “emergency internment camps”. Such an article has never been published by the telegraph.”

Musk has not apologized for spreading the fake report, but has continued to post content criticizing the British government and law enforcement’s handling of the unrest.

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