U.K. government calls on Elon Musk to act responsibly amid provocative posts as unrest grips country
The Hindu
British government urges Elon Musk to act responsibly on social media amid violent unrest in the UK.
The British government has called on Elon Musk to act responsibly after the tech billionaire used his social media platform X to unleash a barrage of posts that officials say risk inflaming the violent unrest gripping the country.
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander made the comments Tuesday morning (August 6) after Mr. Musk posted a comment saying that “Civil war is inevitable” in the U.K. Mr. Musk later doubled down, highlighting complaints that the British criminal justice system treats Muslims more leniently than far-right activists and comparing Britain’s crackdown on social media users to the Soviet Union.
“Use of language such as a ‘civil war’ is in no way acceptable,’’ Ms. Alexander told Times Radio. “We are seeing police officers being seriously injured, buildings set alight, and so I really do think that everyone who has a platform should be exercising their power responsibly.’’
Britain has been shaken by violence for more than a week, as police clashed with crowds spouting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic slogans in cities and towns from Northern Ireland to the south coast of England. The unrest began after right-wing activists used social media to spread misinformation about a knife attack that killed three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event on July 29.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has described the riots as “far-right thuggery,” on Monday (August 5) said the government would deploy a “standing army” of specialist police officers to quell the unrest.
But the government is also calling on social media companies, such as Mr. Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, to do more to combat the spread of misleading and inflammatory information online.
Ms. Alexander said Tuesday that the government would look at strengthening the existing Online Safety Act, which was approved last year and won’t be fully implemented until 2025.
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