Senior bosses at Elon Musk’s X should be “criminally liable” if they tolerate harmful material on the social media platform, says a top police expert.
Sir Thomas Winsor, who previously served as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, argued that the move was needed to crackdown on social posts inciting crimes.
Senior executives of social media companies should also have to spend at least two weeks a year in the UK, under a proposed licensing system, so they could be arrested if they allow harmful content to profilerate on their platforms, he added.
Sir Thomas intervened in the debate about social media fuelling criminal activity after Musk clashed with Sir Keir Starmer over the riots in Britain.
When asked how the online sector should be policed by Nick Ferrari on LBC, Sir Thomas replied: “It should be policed according to the law and vigorously.
“I think the Online Safety Act is a big step forward but it doesn’t go far enough.”
He added: “In my State of Police Report which I gave to Parliament in 2018, I made the point that some social media companies, internet companies, now own and operate what, to many people, have become significant pieces of public infrastructure and therefore their stewardship of that infrastructure is not purely a matter of commercial freedom.
“And I said that merely fining some of the world’s richest companies for tolerating the presence of harmful material on their websites, and incitement to commit a crime is itself a crime, is not enough.
“I said there should be criminal liability for senior managers and that should be at the heart of a system of regulation.”
Musk has been hit with a backlash in Britain by suggesting that the riots were heading towards “civil war” due to the country’s immigration policy.
Downing Street slapped down the claim.
The chief of X (formerly known as Twitter) then went on the offensive against the Prime Minister and claimed there was a two-tier policing system in Britain, an allegation strongly rejected by ministers.
Social media firms stand accused of allowing false claims about the identity of the Southport stabbings suspect to spread, wrongly suggesting that he was a Syrian asylum seeker who came to Britain by crossing the Channel in a “small boat” and was known to the intelligence and security services.
The innacurate rumours are being partly blamed for fuelling the riots.
Local government minister Jim MacMahon told BBC radio: “There is no doubt at all that the online platforms have not stepped up to their responsibilities, that they are allowing hate to be spread, that they are allowing division to be common place, and they have allowed intimidation unfortunately to go unchecked.”
He stressed that the law on incitement would be enforced online and in the street.
“We also need to make sure that beyond the law that platforms are safe places for people to be able to engage in,” he added.
Bermondsey and Old Southwark Labour MP Neil Coyle said: “The Met and police forces across the country need powers to compel the removal of online material and I’ll be seeking this when Parliament returns.
“This would include the powers for the Government to fine companies who fail to remove content.”
Sir Thomas said Musk should “stick to batteries, cars and rockets” rather than seek to intervene in Britain’s system of law and order.
He also called for implementation of a licensing system for social media companies operating in the UK.
“Mr Musk, it seems to me should stick to batteries, cars and rockets because he’s very good at it and leave to the UK authorities the job of dealing with the protection of the safety and security of our communities,” he explained on LBC.
When asked by Mr Ferrari how he would “actually get your hands on an Elon Musk, or even, if he’s San Francisco, a Nick Clegg”, Sir Thomas said: “I’m not talking about individuals but if there are executives of large companies and those companies have or are thought to be committing offences - the regulatory system which I contemplated and spoke about five years ago was creating a licensing system in the UK.
“In other words, you need a licence from the government regulatory authority to operate public infrastructure like you do with energy, telecommunications, water and transport - they’re no different.
“And the conditions of those licences and if you break them, you can lose your licence, so you’re out of business.
“The conditions of the licence could say that the senior executives of the company must spend at least two weeks a year in the UK, and when they come to the UK, they can be lifted.”
