Streeting calls for platforms promoting violent content to pay for riot costs
Former health secretary Wes Streeting has urged the government to take urgent action against X and other online platforms that have helped fuel social tensions, proposing they be forced to contribute to rebuilding costs after the Belfast riots.
Wes Streeting, the former UK health secretary seen as a potential challenger to Keir Starmer in any leadership contest, has called for immediate action against platforms that have helped stir social tensions. He suggested such companies should be compelled to pay for the costs of rebuilding after the riots in Belfast.
Streeting condemned what he called "the forces of darkness online and offline." He argued that the current government response—leaving the matter to regulator Ofcom—is insufficient given the volume of hateful posts on X, including from the platform's billionaire owner Elon Musk, calling for an angry response to a knife attack in Belfast.
Similar content appeared before disorder in Southampton linked to the case of Henry Nowak, a student who was handcuffed by police as he lay dying after his murderer falsely accused him of racist abuse. X carried posts incorrectly naming two Hampshire police officers as involved in Nowak's arrest, with some showing addresses and messages like "Wanted: dead or alive."
In a statement to the Guardian, Streeting said: "We're long past the time for threats. We have to act. Incitement to violence is a crime in the offline world so it must be prosecuted as a crime in the online world. If platforms are knowingly promoting this dangerous content, bosses should face criminal action and the companies should be made to pay the costs of cleaning up and rebuilding Belfast, along with the thugs on the ground."
Currently, the Online Safety Act requires social media companies to remove illegal content such as incitement to violence, enforced by Ofcom. X has agreed to submit quarterly compliance reports, but the first is not due for at least two months. Ministers also plan to amend the act to require faster removal of inflammatory content during crises, but these changes will not take effect until mid-July at the earliest.
When asked why similar action was not taken against posts inciting violence in Belfast or Southampton, Downing Street pointed to Ofcom's ongoing actions. A No 10 spokesperson said: "We condemn anyone who has attempted to stoke division or incite violence... Platforms have clear responsibilities in law to remove any illegal content, and Ofcom have our full backing in using their enforcement powers to hold them to account."
