Elon Musk’s X platform has agreed to help the British government police so-called hate speech after pressure from regulators.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: X, owned by Elon Musk, has agreed to help the British government crack down on so-called hate speech online, under pressure from Britain’s media and communications regulator, Ofcom. 📰 DETAIL: Ofcom announced on Friday that the agreement includes a committment to review and assess so-called “hate content,” reported via a “dedicated UK illegal content reporting tool,” within 24 hours on average, and at least 85 percent of reports within 48 hours. X must also engage with “experts” regarding reporting systems for “illegal hate” and “submit performance data to Ofcom on a quarterly basis” to evaluate its compliance. , 💬 KEY QUOTE: “These commitments are a step forward, but there’s a lot more to do. We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from civil society and other expert organizations to scrutinize these platforms, and we’ll continue working with them extensively to drive forward changes for people in the UK,” said Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom’s Online Safety Group Director. 🎯 IMPACT: X’s move to comply with Ofcom’s demands marks a significant climbdown from Musk’s commitment to making the platform a bastion of free speech after he acquired it in late 2022. Notably, Ofcom said in its announcement that it “worked with a range of organizations to gather evidence about suspected illegal terrorist content and illegal hate speech online, including antisemitic and anti-Muslim material,” with some of the organizations in question being highly controversial. For instance, HOPE Not Hate is a George Soros-funded group noted for spreading fake news about acid attacks on Muslims and smearing immigration skeptics, and Tell MAMA has been accused of inflating its data on alleged anti-Muslim incidents. |
We have accepted X’s public commitments to bring in new protections to tackle illegal hate and terror content.
Read the full list of changes and our statement here 🔗 https://t.co/J5MR6pXbye pic.twitter.com/NjDetiq8m5
— Ofcom (@Ofcom) May 15, 2026
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