Tech Companies Are Allowing Harmful Misinformation – And Government Seems Powerless To Stop Them

The violent disorder across many UK towns and cities in the past few weeks shocked the nation – but the surge of online misinformation which helped to fuel it should come as no surprise.

For years, MPs from all parties have been calling for the Government to do more to tackle misinformation and disinformation, as the Online Safety Bill took years to pass into legislation in 2023 – having initially been proposed four years earlier. 

There were many warnings of the possible harmful impact of online misinformation ahead of the 2024 UK general election and many other elections happening around the world this year. British charity Full Fact even developed a tool to allow people to test whether politicians were making false claims online.

But now, months after the Online Safety Act passed into law, these fears have not been abated. The tide of far-right, racist violence that swept over the UK this month has deep roots in online disinformation, particularly with the sharing of a false name connected with the suspect in the Southport stabbings of young girls. According to Bloomberg, UK authorities suspect foreign state actors used bots and fake accounts to amplify these misleading posts.

For some politicians, including Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, these incidents have shown that the Online Safety Act must be revisited “very, very quickly”. Chris Webb, the new MP for Blackpool South – which has been particularly affected by racist violence – told The Rundown podcast that new laws tackling online incitement should be brought in sooner.

There are indications that the UK is looking at steps to tighten regulation, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer told broadcasters on Friday that the Government is "going to have to look more broadly at social