Vague new rules will allow UK regulators to put pressure on platforms over “legal but harmful” content whenever government ministers declare a crisis, while the same government pushes through mandatory phone scanning, digital ID lockdowns, and jail threats for tech executives who refuse to spy on every device.
The current step by Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn confirms what privacy advocates have long warned: the Online Safety Act is being weaponized well beyond any child-protection claims.
Benn acknowledged that the internet regulator will now have greater authority to combat “false information” online during “times of crisis,” linking the recent Belfast upheaval to this framework.
The UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, oversees broadcasting, telecoms and, since the Online Safety Act, the big online platforms. When Ofcom or ministers see rises in ‘illegal’ ‘damaging’ content during a ‘crisis’ event, it then instructs platforms to use beefed up, crisis-specific moderation procedures.
This week, Ofcom published an open letter on Belfast. Belfast: Monday night’s deadly knife attack has led to civil disruption in the city some of which appears to have been incited online. “There have been racially motivated violence, arson attacks on homes and vehicles and attacks on police.
The letter also reminds internet service providers of their responsibility under the online Safety Act 2023 to identify and mitigate risks of “illegal” content, including as hate speech and violence.
“Prior crises have demonstrated how a rapid spike in illegal content on the internet can translate into hate crimes and violence in the real world,” it states, adding that “normal content moderation systems and processes may not be sufficient in such situations.”
Ofcom said it was “important” that platforms “should have procedures in place to respond to spikes in illegal content during a crisis.” The day before the letter it was confirmed that the platforms will likely make these modifications without parliament’s authorization. The letter urges services to “act now to address illegal content” and put in place crisis measures.
This is a clear response to X’s widely stated belief that the Online Safety Act, which was marketed to the public over and over as a child-protection legislation, is now being applied to adult content and civil unrest with no mention of minors in the regulator’s crisis guidelines.
Along with the new regulatory authorities, the UK government is launching PoliceAI, a new National Centre for AI in Policing funded with £115 million. This centralized body coordinates AI development and implementation across all 43 forces in England and Wales, with a focus on capabilities like live facial recognition, predictive analytics, automated data analysis, and deepfakes detection.
According to the government, it is intended to accelerate investigations and automate mundane policing activities while developing a unified national framework for testing and implementing the technology.
