Ofcom has set out stronger rules requiring UK tech companies to have crisis-response plans to handle sudden spikes in illegal online content that threaten public safety. The measures — prompted by the 2024 Southport riots, where authorities said inflammatory and misleading material circulated online helped fuel violence — expect platforms to deploy temporary teams, scale moderation, run post-crisis reviews and provide law-enforcement channels. The Online Safety Act links such content to around 140 offences including terrorism, hate, harassment and threats.
Ofcom Orders UK Tech Firms To Have Crisis Plans For Surges In Illegal Online Content After Southport Riots
A girl walks past flowers at a makeshift memorial allowing people to pay their respects to the victims of a knife attack, in Southport, Britain August 9, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman
LONDON, June 9 — Regulator Ofcom has published strengthened guidance requiring technology companies operating in the UK to prepare formal crisis-response plans to manage sudden spikes in illegal online content that could threaten public safety.
What Ofcom Requires
The protocol asks social media platforms and other online services to be ready to rapidly scale efforts when a crisis drives a surge in illegal material. Measures include deploying temporary response teams, increasing moderation capacity, and conducting thorough post-crisis reviews. Larger platforms are also expected to establish dedicated communication channels with law enforcement for use during emergencies.
“Given the speed at which online harms can escalate during a crisis, and the serious risks this can pose to public safety, we have decided to accelerate our work on these crisis response measures to ensure that services can begin to take appropriate steps,” Ofcom said in the protocol published online.
Background: The Southport Case
The guidance was prompted in part by unrest following a knife attack in Southport in 2024. The attack, at a Taylor Swift–themed dance class in the northern England town, left three young girls dead and was followed by widespread violence. Authorities said inflammatory and misleading content circulating online helped fuel the disturbances.
Legal Context
The Online Safety Act — one of the world's strictest online-safety regimes — ties this type of illegal content to roughly 140 offences, covering terrorism, hate, harassment and threats, rather than a broader, less specific category of unlawful material. Under the Act, companies are responsible for deciding how to act on such risks, guided by Ofcom's protocols.
Next Steps For Platforms
Ofcom's guidance does not prescribe a single technical solution. Instead, it expects firms to develop tailored crisis plans that can be rapidly activated, including:
- Temporary response teams: cross-functional groups to coordinate moderation and communications;
- Surge moderation: scalable resources (human and automated) to remove illegal content quickly;
- Post-crisis reviews: assessments to learn and improve future responses;
- Law-enforcement channels: clear lines for sharing time-sensitive information with authorities.
Ofcom said it is accelerating this work to ensure services can take appropriate steps swiftly when public safety is at risk. The regulator will continue to offer guidance while leaving operational decisions to companies, which must demonstrate how they will meet the new expectations.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti. Editing by Sarah Young.)
Help us improve.
