Elon Musk’s Social Media Commitment

According to a report by Telegraph, Elon Musk’s platform X has made a formal agreement with the UK’s online safety regulator, Ofcom. This agreement signifies a commitment to act more swiftly against illegal hate speech, including racism and anti-Semitism. The platform has faced scrutiny regarding its content moderation policies since Musk took over in 2022.

As part of this new commitment, X plans to review posts flagged for hate speech or potentially terrorist content within 24 hours. They aim to check and remove a minimum of 85% of hateful and anti-Semitic content within 48 hours. Additionally, X has promised to take stronger measures to block accounts linked to organizations banned under UK law.

Ofcom’s director of online safety, Oliver Griffiths, described this agreement as progress but noted that there is still significant work to be done. He mentioned having evidence that terrorist content and illegal hate speech persist on many major social media sites. “We expect them to take decisive action,” he added, emphasizing the urgency of the situation given recent hate crimes against Britain’s Jewish community.

This agreement follows a tense period between X and regulatory bodies. Previously, Musk’s company clashed with Ofcom regarding the Online Safety Act, which governs technology companies’ liability in the UK. Last summer, X accused the regulator of a heavy-handed approach, claiming it infringed on free speech rights.

Ofcom is also investigating X regarding non-consensual deepfake images of women and children that circulated on the platform in January.

Since Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, X has embraced a much looser approach to content moderation, famously stating a mantra of “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach.” This shift has resulted in the reinstatement of thousands of accounts that were previously banned for hate speech violations.