LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) – Technology companies operating in Britain must now develop emergency protocols to address dramatic increases in harmful online material during public safety emergencies like the 2024 Southport riots, according to new requirements announced by the regulator on Tuesday.
Widespread violence erupted two years ago after a stabbing incident in Southport, a city in northern England, that killed three young girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Officials determined that false and inflammatory material spreading rapidly across the internet helped spark the widespread disorder.
The new requirements from regulator Ofcom mandate that social media companies and other online platforms establish emergency response procedures to manage sudden surges in prohibited content.
“Given the speed at which online harms can escalate during a crisis, and the serious risks this can pose to public safety, we have decided to accelerate our work on these crisis response measures to ensure that services can begin to take appropriate steps,” the regulator stated in its published protocol.
The oversight agency indicated that companies should prepare to activate emergency response teams, increase content monitoring capabilities, and conduct evaluations following crises. Major platforms would additionally need to establish direct communication lines with police during emergencies.
The Online Safety Act, considered among the world’s most comprehensive internet regulations, defines prohibited content as material related to approximately 140 criminal offenses involving terrorism, hate speech, harassment, and threats, rather than encompassing all unlawful material.
Individual companies bear responsibility for determining their response to such risks, following the regulator’s guidelines.
