Ofcom Launches Investigation Into Major Social Media Platforms Over Illegal Hate Content
Ofcom is running a new compliance programme to determine whether social media companies are following online safety laws (Alamy)
4 min read
Internet regulator Ofcom has launched a new investigation into whether social media platforms are doing enough to identify and remove illegal terror and hate content.
Ofcom is to examine whether the largest social media companies have adequate systems and policies to assess and take down illegal hate and terror content once it is reported.
By April 2026, Ofcom will have completed a detailed review of one major platform and will then extend this work to others. While Ofcom told PoliticsHome it will not disclose which social media platform it is investigating first, the regulator said it will act if it finds serious non-compliance.
As revealed by PoliticsHome, more than 30 cross-party MPs and peers wrote to Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes in November asking the regulator to urgently investigate whether Elon Musk’s X platform, formerly known as Twitter, is failing to comply with its legal duties under the Online Safety Act.
The letter followed analysis by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which uncovered posts on X openly celebrating an attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester in October in which two people were killed. The posts celebrated the killings, expressed explicit genocidal hatred towards Jews, and called for further violence.
In its response to this letter, Ofcom told MPs it shares their concerns about surging antisemitism and other forms of extreme hate online.
“Following the attack in Manchester, we immediately engaged both with the largest social media platforms and with a range of civil society organisations,” Ofcom chief executive Dawes wrote.
“While we cannot comment on individual platforms’ compliance with the Online Safety Act at this stage, our engagement with these civil society organisations yielded a number of concerning findings. All the organisations in question reported that they were observing significant volumes of extreme hatred online – including on some of the largest social media platforms – and including antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate.”
Ofcom said evidence of illegal hate and terror content remaining online after being reported shows that some platforms’ moderation systems are failing and “need to improve”.
PoliticsHome previously reported that Ofcom was expected to look at this issue, and has been meeting with campaigners to discuss whether there is evidence of a systemic problem with unlawful hate content on X in particular.
Ofcom is now seeking further evidence from civil society groups and from MPs themselves, particularly around cases where platforms failed to remove illegal content after complaints or made it difficult for users to report it. The letter stressed that while the Online Safety Act does not require illegal content to be eliminated entirely, it does require platforms to have effective measures in place to address it.
Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the CCDH, told PoliticsHome: "We welcome Ofcom's reply and acknowledgement of the seriousness of this antisemitic content.
“While some parts of the regulatory process must stay confidential, the truth is that the content CCDH uncovered is out in the open for anyone to see, and it carries real risks of incitement and harm.
“The longer Ofcom takes to investigate, the more the public will lose faith that the protections promised under the Online Safety Act will ever materialise. This is about people’s safety and dignity; the Act has to mean something."
There has been growing political pressure on Ofcom in recent months. PoliticsHome understands that some ministers are privately frustrated that the regulator has been too slow and too timid in using its powers to enforce the Online Safety Act against major tech and social media firms.
In the last few months, Science, Technology and Innovation Secretary Liz Kendall has written to the regulator multiple times to outline her concerns about the pace of implementation of the Online Safety Act, which came into force earlier this year.
“I remain deeply concerned that delays in implementing duties, such as user empowerment, could hinder our work to protect women and girls from harmful content and protect users from antisemitism,” Kendall wrote.
“Ofcom will continue to have the government’s full backing to use all its powers to ensure that services are putting users’ safety first, and I continue to urge you to look at where you can expedite your processes, and the user empowerment duties specifically.”
PoliticsHome understands that Ofcom has responded to Kendall’s most recent letter.
