Online Safety Act not fit for purpose after far-right riots, says Sadiq Khan

Laws designed to counter misinformation are “not fit for purpose” and must be revisited after the spread of online falsehoods contributed to this month’s far-right riots, the mayor of London has said.

Sadiq Khan, one of the UK’s most senior Muslim politicians, said ministers should act “very, very quickly” to review the Online Safety Act after the violent unrest in England and Belfast over the past week. There have been calls to hasten the act’s implementation.

His comments came after the owner of X, Elon Musk, escalated his attacks on the Labour government, sharing a fake Telegraph article on his social media platform claiming Keir Starmer was considering sending far-right rioters to “emergency detainment camps” in the Falklands. The article was first posted by Ashlea Simon, a co-leader of the far-right group Britain First.

The post, which Musk deleted after 30 minutes, prompted a spokesperson for the European Commission to say its investigation into X could take its handling of harmful content related to the recent England riots into account.

Thousands of anti-racism protesters gathered across England on Wednesday, forming human shields to protect asylum centres, with the 100 far-right-led rallies anticipated by police largely failing to materialise.

It followed a week of disorder across the country, whipped up by far-right activists online, who falsely claimed that a Muslim immigrant was behind the mass stabbing in Southport that targeted children at a Taylor Swift dance class.

On Thursday, Merseyside police confirmed that the last remaining girl in hospital had been discharged. Her family issued a statement condemning the violence, saying it had been “an incredibly difficult time for our nation”. They said: “We were deeply saddened by the recent disorder and the attacks on our police force.

Related: What is the UK’s Online Safety Act and what powers will it provide?

“It is important to highlight that when the horrific events unfolded, our police officers were the first on the scene. We are immensely grateful to the officers who stood by our daughter’s side, providing assistance and support until she was safely transported to the hospital.”

Starmer and senior ministers have warned tech companies that they must uphold the law on their platforms and combat material that incites people to racial hatred. Ofcom, the media regulator, published an open letter to social media firms this week saying they should not wait until it gets enhanced powers under the Online Safety Act before taking action.

The act, which became law last October, gives Ofcom the power to fine social media companies up to £18m or 10% of their global turnover if they fail to take robust action against content inciting violence or terrorism.

Ofcom is still drafting guidelines on how it will implement the law, and enforcement is not expected to begin until next year. Existing laws on inciting violence rely on the 1986 Public Order Act, which was passed decades before social media existed and requires police to comb online platforms for potential breaches.

“I think very swiftly the government has realised there needs to be amendments to the Online Safety Act,” Khan said in an interview with the Guardian. “I think what the government should do very quickly is check if it is fit for purpose. I think it’s not fit for purpose.”

Khan said there were “things that could be done by responsible social media platforms” but added: “If they don’t sort their own house out, regulation is coming.”

However, Khan was reluctant to suggest the government or politicians should leave platforms such as X, which was known as Twitter before it was bought by Musk. “That was an argument made many years ago about some newspapers, and the reality is it’s our job as politicians to reach the electorate – particularly the case when you’ve got people playing on people’s fears,” he said.

“One of the ways we can address people’s fears is using the medium that’s used by citizens, and that is social media platforms. Boycotting a platform … you can’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”

Musk became embroiled in an online spat with Starmer this week after he suggested the riots in the UK meant “civil war is inevitable”. He faced renewed criticism on Thursday for sharing the fake article posted by Simon.

The post was deleted, but not before it had garnered nearly 2m views. A spokesperson for Telegraph Media Group said the headline had been fabricated.

Musk has come under fire repeatedly for promoting misinformation on X. The Center for Countering Digital Hate has calculated that his misleading claims about the US election, including the allegation that the Democrats are “importing voters”, have been viewed 1.2bn times on the platform.

EU officials issued charges against X last month under the Digital Services Act, which requires very large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal content.

There are hopes that Wednesday night marked a turning point in the UK unrest, but Starmer told a Cobra meeting of cabinet ministers and police chiefs on Thursday evening of the need to maintain “high alert”.

A government source said the prime minister emphasised that there was “no doubt” that high levels of targeted policing alongside the rapid sentencing of rioters – including a three-year sentence – was having a deterrent effect.

The Guardian understands that more sentences are expected on Friday for people who have admitted online incitement linked to the riots.

After an earlier visit to a mosque in Solihull, Starmer told broadcasters: “I think the fact we didn’t see the disorder that was feared is because we had police deployed in numbers in the right places, giving reassurance to communities.

“We were able to demonstrate the criminal justice system working speedily, so yesterday we saw the sentencing of individuals who had been involved in disorder days ago, some of them getting sentences as long as three years. That sent a very powerful message.”

Senior police officers stressed that 5,000 public order officers would still be on duty or on standby this weekend in case of further unrest.

“There are many potential events still being advertised and circulated online and those intent on violence and destruction have not gone away,” said Gavin Stephens, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council. “They’ve certainly been deterred. They’ve certainly received a message from communities. But there’s no complacency at all in our mind that we need to be prepared for the days and particularly the weekend ahead.”

Khan said comments by the Tory leadership candidate Robert Jenrick, who suggested on Wednesday that anyone shouting Allahu Akbar in the street should be arrested, were “offensive and dangerous”.

He said there must be “lessons learned over the last couple of weeks, by politicians as well … jumping to conclusions, you’re throwing fuel on the fire. What has led to some of the stuff we’ve seen across the country the last week or so.”