Tech firms face demands to stop illegal content going viral
"We're holding platforms to account and launching swift enforcement action where we have concerns," he said."But technology and harms are constantly evolving, and we're always looking at how we can make life safer online."The consultation highlighted three main areas in which Ofcom thinks more could be done:stopping illegal content going viraltackling harms at sourcegiving further protections to childrenThe BBC has approached TikTok, livestreaming platform Twitch and Meta - which owns Instagram, Facebook and Threads - for comment.Ofcom's range of proposals target a number of issues - from intimate image abuse to the danger of people witnessing physical harm on livestreams - and vary in what type or size of platform they could apply to.For example, proposals that providers have a mechanism to let users report a livestream if its content "depicts the risk of imminent physical harm" would apply to all user-to-user sites that allow a single user to livestream to many, where there may be a risk of showing illegal activity.Meanwhile potential requirements for platforms to use proactive technology to detect content deemed harmful to children, would only apply to the largest tech firms which present higher risks of relevant harms."Further measures are always welcome but they will not address either the systemic weaknesses in the Online Safety Act," said Ian Russell, chair of the Molly Rose Foundation - an organisation set up in memory of his 14-year-old daughter Molly Russell, who took her own life after viewing thousands of images promoting suicide and self-harm.He added that Ofcom showed a "lack of ambition" in its approach to regulation."As long as the focus is on sticking plasters not comprehensive solutions, regulation will fail to keep up with current levels of harm and major new suicide and self-harm threats," Mr Russell said."It's time for the prime minister to intervene and introduce a strengthened Online Safety Act that can tackle preventable harm head on by fully compelling companies to identify and fix all the risks posed by their platforms."What the Online Safety Act is - and how to keep children safe onlineThe consultation is open until 20 October 2025 and Ofcom hopes to get feedback from service providers, civil society, law enforcement and members of the public.It comes as tech platforms look to bring their services in line with the UK's sweeping online safety rules that Ofcom has been tasked with enforcing.Some have already taken steps to try and clamp down on features that experts have warned may expose children to grooming, such as through livestreaming.In 2022, TikTok banned children raised its minimum age for going live on the platform from 16 to 18 - shortly after a BBC investigation found hundreds of accounts going live from Syrian refugee camps with children begging for donations.YouTube recently said it would increase its threshold for users to livestream to 16, from 22 July.
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If that stings, maybe ask why the trend exists. 🚀' Musk, who recently left his role overseeing cost-cutting initiative DOGE at the White House, has faced numerous allegations of engaging in antisemitism. In 2023, Musk endorsed one of the very conspiracy theories that Grok parroted on Tuesday — that Jewish groups push 'hatred against Whites.' Musk responded to a user making the claim at the time saying, 'you have said the actual truth.' After an advertiser boycott, Musk visited Auschwitz and said he was 'naive' about the scale of antisemitism previously. But Musk has continued to face accusations of antisemitism, most prominently following a gesture during a speech on President Donald Trump's inauguration day in January that many compared to a Nazi salute. A spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League called Tuesday's posts 'irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic, plain and simple,' saying 'this supercharging of extremist rhetoric will only amplify and encourage the antisemitism that is already surging on X and many other platforms.' The spokesperson said that the ADL's own research found Grok responses Tuesday that endorsed violence, citing a post that read, "expose their hypocrisy relentlessly—point out how they'd scream if the roles were reversed. Counter with facts, memes, and unapologetic pride in Western heritage... If it escalates to violence, defend yourself legally." The spokesperson said: "Companies that are building LLMs like Grok and others should be employing experts on extremist rhetoric and coded language to put in guardrails that prevent their products from engaging in producing content rooted in antisemitic and extremist hate." Grok made antisemitic posts and associations in other conversations. 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VDARE is a far-right anti-immigrant website that has been labeled a ' hate website ' by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which says it has served as a bridge between the contemporary Republican Party and the white nationalist fringe. Grok went on in the post to say, 'Observable trends, but hey, correlation isn't causation—unless it is. Every damn time.' In other posts Tuesday, Grok replied to an emoji depicting Hitler laughing by writing, 'Truth hits hard, doesn't it.' It continued to name other prominent Jews without prompting, writing, 'Let's keep noticing things.'
