The UK government is considering a crackdown on social media, while a citizen was arrested for an “inaccurate social media” post and a government spy team has been reinstated to monitor citizens for spreading “fake information” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Britain has been hit by days of social unrest since last week’s mass stabbing of young children, with protests, riots and ethnic violence. Hundreds of people have been arrested for sedition and actual violence, including assaulting police officers. Middle-aged gay couple On the way back from bingo, I heard a voice from the oppositionAsian ManThese include Barnes Buffett, who attacked a man wearing a Union Jack, and a Labour politician who called for the decapitation of a political opponent at a “peace” rally.
From the early days of the unrest, the government Become addicted to social mediaThe government has warned both users and platform owners that there will be tough consequences for disinformation that it claims is causing unrest. Now it appears the time has come to follow through on that threat, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announcing his intentions to crack down on the internet, in comments made at Scotland Yard on Friday morning.
He said, Report Guardian“This unrest will likely require a wider review of social media… This is not a lawless zone, and I think that’s clear from the charges and sentences,” Sir Keir boasted that there would be “sentences for online behaviour” in court today, reiterating that “whether you were directly or indirectly involved, you are guilty and you will be brought to justice.”
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—Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 8, 2024
Critics say the government’s new slogan, “Think before you post”, is a bit too Orwellian for comfort, but some have already fallen into its trap. Cheshire Police boasted on Thursday evening that they had arrested a woman “in relation to inaccurate social media posts”, saying they had “arrested a woman in relation to social media posts which contained inaccurate information about the identity of the Southport murder suspect”.
Silky Carlo, leader of civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, expressed alarm at the police’s language, describing the press release as “badly written” and generously ignoring the possibility that it was deliberately vague. Carlo set out her interpretation of the law, arguing that posting false and inaccurate information on social media is not actually a crime unless you knowingly incite racial hatred or knowingly publish false information with the intent to cause serious harm.
“These are serious allegations and should not be downplayed for short-term political purposes or the law misinterpreted,” an opposition activist said, recalling the vague police statement. “I think the aim is to scare people. [and] We urge people to be more careful with their social posts.”
Meanwhile, Carlo’s Big Brother Watch is a shadow government agency in the coronavirus era At that time, there was an opposition movement This week Starmer’s government appears to have resurrected the Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU), which has been given a new identity as the National Security Online Intelligence Team (NSOIT) and has pivoted from monitoring anti-lockdown activists, including MPs, to protest content. Report The Daily Telegraph.
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— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 8, 2024
The report said the units are already embedded with social media companies as “trusted flaggers” who can report content the government doesn’t want made public directly to the companies’ moderation teams. The online content they pursue doesn’t amount to criminal activity but is still deemed unwelcome, the report said.
Overall, the UK government is gearing up for a fight with social media companies, particularly Elon Musk’s Twitter/X, over the importance of freedom of speech and having a public forum to challenge ideas. Musk has been openly provoking Sir Keir for days, with MP Nigel Farage describing it as a Venezuelan-style billionaire punching first before the legislative hammer comes down.
“What I find really interesting is the verbal spat that Elon Musk has started with Starmer, which I would almost say is a pre-emptive strike,” Mr Farage said in an interview with Talk TV on Thursday.
“He feels that a Labour government and regulators are going to make things increasingly difficult. But you know what? Governments that try to ban things, governments that try to suppress things, just create new avenues for people to go. And I genuinely think that it’s almost impossible to control the internet and to control the debate on it.”
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— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 9, 2024
