Musk targets PM once more after criticism of UK ‘civil warfare’ put up

Sir Keir Starmer has turn into embroiled in a confrontation with Elon Musk, after the tech billionaire advised that “civil war is inevitable” following violent unrest within the UK.

The proprietor of X, previously Twitter, posted the remarks on the platform in response to a video exhibiting folks aiming fireworks at police.

The prime minister’s spokesperson mentioned there was “no justification” for Mr Musk’s feedback, including there was extra that social media corporations “can and should be doing”.

Mr Musk then replied to a put up on X from the prime minister – wherein Sir Keir mentioned he wouldn’t tolerate assaults on mosques or Muslim communities – asking: “Shouldn’t you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?”

Mr Musk additionally shared a video of an individual purportedly being arrested for offensive feedback on-line, asking: “Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?”

He additionally replied to a put up criticising UK policing, suggesting the police’s response “does seem one-sided”.

The Prime Minister mentioned that there might be “substantive sentencing” for some rioters by the top of the weekend and mentioned “to anybody involved, either directly or online, you’re likely to be dealt with within a week”.

When requested about feedback from Mr Musk, Sir Keir mentioned “my focus is on ensuring our communities are safe. That is my sole focus. I think it’s very important for us all to support the police in what they’re doing”.

Justice Minister Heidi Alexander has additionally weighed in in opposition to Mr Musk, who has a protracted historical past of creating controversial remarks on-line, for his “totally unjustifiable” and “pretty deplorable” feedback.

Disorder has now lasted nearly per week, following the deadly stabbing of three ladies in Southport. The subsequent unrest in cities and cities throughout England and in elements of Northern Ireland has been fuelled by misinformation on-line, the far-right and anti-immigration sentiment.

When requested about accusations of two-tier policing within the UK, Ms Alexander mentioned that was a “baseless assertion” that does a “disservice to police women and men who exit to do their jobs and uphold the rule of legislation”.

She added social media companies had a “ethical accountability” to call for calm and help clamp down on misinformation.

The PM’s spokesperson also said social media firms “have a accountability” to ensure criminal activity – including from those outside the UK – is not being shared online and state actors may be amplifying misinformation.

But they would not say which countries the government believes are behind the posts.

Meanwhile, BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, has urged media regulator Ofcom to consider fining X after this weekend’s disorder.

Adam Leon Smith, a fellow of BCS, said: “When misinformation results in riots and unrest, there should be penalties. It is simple to argue that X has proven disregard for public security in internet hosting such content material.

“We urge Ofcom to enforce the Online Safety Act as soon as they can, with the full weight of the law and levy significant fines if they find mismanagement on the platform.”

On Monday, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle mentioned he had met representatives from TikTok, Facebook’s dad or mum firm Meta, Google and X “to make clear their responsibility to continue to work with us to stop the spread of hateful misinformation and incitement”.

The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has additionally mentioned the federal government wouldn’t tolerate “arm chair thuggery” and social media corporations must “take responsibility” over on-line posts encouraging criminality.

The Daily News has approached X, Meta, TikTok, Snap, Telegram and Signal for remark.

A well-placed supply at Snap, the corporate which runs the social media platform Snapchat, instructed Daily News News it has not been contacted by the UK authorities following the dysfunction.

Snapchat says it has 21 million month-to-month customers within the UK.

Telegram instructed the Daily News its moderators had been “actively monitoring the situation and are removing channels and posts containing calls to violence”.

Calls to violence had been explicitly forbidden by the messaging platforms phrases of service, it mentioned.

Offences regarding incitement below UK legislation predate social media, and are listed below the Public Order Act 1986.

This might embody upsetting violence and harassment, in addition to partaking in rioting.

The Online Safety Act, which grew to become legislation in 2023 however has not but absolutely come into impact, would require social media companies to “take robust action against illegal content and activity”, together with “racially or religiously aggravated” offences in addition to inciting violence.

The prison offences launched by the act will cowl sending “threatening communications” on-line, and sharing “false information intended to cause non-trivial harm”.

On Monday, Sir Keir emphasised that “criminal law applies online as well as offline”.

Mr Musk’s feedback have drawn criticism from some on-line, with satirist Armando Iannucci saying the Tesla and Space X CEO had been “taken in by your own platform, which amplifies noise at the expense of facts”.

Sunder Katwala, director of suppose tank British Future, mentioned the put up was “spreading a narrative that is crucial to socialising people with fairly extreme view towards condoning violence to protect their group”.

He mentioned there must be “strong responses from government, Ofcom, and parliament” to the feedback.

An Ofcom spokesperson instructed Daily News News it’s “moving quickly” to implement the Online Safety Act, so it may be enforced “as soon as possible”.

“When it comes fully into force, tech firms will have to assess the risk of illegal content on their platforms, take steps to stop it appearing and act quickly to remove it when they become aware of it,” they mentioned.

“We expect the illegal harms duties to come into force from around the end of the year… and the additional duties on the largest services in 2026.”