Tech companies will be forced to ban fake news from their platforms under plans being considered by the Government in the wake of the riots.
Sir Keir Starmer suggested on Friday that the Government would review social media laws as part of efforts to prevent further disorder.
The Telegraph understands that ministers are looking at introducing a duty on social media companies to restrict “legal but harmful” content.
It could mean that firms are required to remove or suppress posts spreading fake news about asylum seekers or other topics such as self-harm, even if they do not meet the threshold for illegality.
However, critics have said the proposals expose “the sinister and authoritarian side” of Sir Keir’s Labour Party, driving “a coach and horses” through the principle of free speech.
The plans come after a row between Elon Musk who owns X, formerly known as Twitter, and the Prime Minister over his handling of the riots.
The potential crackdown on tech companies would likely form part of a review of the Online Safety Act, which was passed last year.
The Act requires platforms to take “robust action” against illegal content and activity and […]
Excellent! So the Brits are leading us in creating a Ministry of Truth. And so who will be the final arbiter of truth and falsehood? Whose agenda will it serve? George Orwell would be proud. Yet another step towards Inverted Totalitarianism in Britain, but they were leading us anyway. Examine carefully who in the US embraces this idea. They will be enemies of the first amendment ( among others ) – all of them. Believe in the Bill of Rights? Think and act outside the box.
Wow! I’ve waiting for this a long time!! The airwaves are owned by the government and it was always the idea by the Fore Fathers that the press (that was the only thing that existed then) was important and essential for information to be given to the public. No one expected the press to LIE to people as they do now—-especially certain TV stations. There should be a law nationally that fines heavily any station, whether TV or radio, a huge amount for telling a deliberate lie. It has only hurt the public who depend on these areas for accurate information. And it would be even worse should this mendacity continue once AI is in place. Then we are doomed to fake information that will harm the American people.