Britain’s recently-elected Labour government inherited the legislation from the Conservatives, who spent many months tweaking the bill in an attempt to balance the right to free speech with concerns over online harms.

 

Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas Symonds said on Friday that the government would revisit the law’s framework.

 

“There are obviously aspects of the Online Safety Act that haven’t come into effect yet. We stand ready to make changes if necessary,” he said on Sky News.

 

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, told the Guardian on Thursday that the Online Safety Act needed to be amended in the wake of the riots.

 

“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,” he told the newspaper.

 

Context

 

Disorder spread across Britain last week, after widely-shared online posts wrongly identified the suspected killer of three young girls in a July 29 knife attack as a Muslim migrant.

 

As rioters clashed with police in some towns and cities, X owner Elon Musk also used his platform to share misleading information with his millions of followers, including one post suggesting civil war was “inevitable” in Britain.

 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said there was “no justification” for such comments.

First Published: Aug 09 2024 | 2:57 PM IST