An MP whose Belfast constituency was the worst affected in Northern Ireland by the summer’s anti-immigration riots has said social media owners have “never demonstrated sufficient responsibility for the power they currently hold”.
South Belfast MP Claire Hanna was speaking after it was revealed that X owner Elon Musk will be summoned by MPs to testify about the role of his social media platform in spreading disinformation during the violence that rocked Northern Ireland and England.
The questioning will come as part of a Commons science and technology select committee, where senior executives from Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — as well as TikTok, are also expected to be called for questioning.
The first evidence sessions are expected to take place in the new year.
Forty-five people have been arrested and 35 charged, including an 11-year-old boy, amid violence and disorder which spread across Northern Ireland in August, following anti-immigration rallies in response to the stabbing of three girls in Southport, England.
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During the disorder, windows of houses were broken, cars and various objects were set on fire, and police officers were attacked with bricks and masonry by many masked assailants.
Several businesses owned by migrants were torched or vandalised during trouble in south Belfast.
SDLP leader Ms Hanna said “it is vital that we get a grip of social media for the years ahead”.
She added: “There can be no doubt that, despite the many positives, it has helped fuel violent unrest across these islands and around the world in recent years.
“Misinformation, abuse and extreme imagery is also rife, with untold impacts on many people and real harm to our democracy and our society. It is not sustainable to have such control over public discourse in the hands of a small number of private companies, who have never demonstrated sufficient responsibility for the power they currently hold.
“The owners of these sites have gotten away with it for far too long and we need laws to catch up to the Wild West online and stop its corrosive influence.”
Alliance MLA Kate Nicholl
South Belfast MLA Kate Nicholl – who hails from Zimbabwe, a neighbouring country of Mr Musk’s South African homeland — said she “would be particularly keen to hear Elon Musk’s views on freedom of expression and tackling disinformation”.
She added: “I welcome any opportunity for MPs to question how social media companies treat hate speech, conspiracy theories or incitement to violence, but particularly considering what happened in our city over the summer, and the fear it caused and impact it continues to have.”
In the year to September, the PSNI recorded 409 more race hate crime incidents compared to the previous year — an increase of over a third. The main reports concern criminal damage and arson.
According to the Guardian, MPs will probe the consequences of generative AI, which was used to create images shared to social media inciting people to join Islamophobic protests in the wake of the Southport killings.
Chi Onwurah, the Labour MP who chairs the select committee, said Mr Musk has “very strong views on multiple aspects of this”.
Mr Musk clashed with ministers over the summer after he repeatedly claimed “two-tier policing” existed in the UK and attacked the Government for what he claimed was a crackdown on freedom of speech during the disorder.
Mr Musk was dubbed “deeply irresponsible” by ministers for his remarks, while Downing Street said there was no justification for his claim that “civil war is inevitable” in Britain.
It comes after the mid the billionaire’s increasingly influential role in world affairs having been a vocal campaigner for Donald Trump and donated millions of pounds to his presidential campaign.
The owner of Tesla and X will co-head the US Department of Government Efficiency — nicknamed Doge after Mr Musk’s favourite cryptocurrency — which is tasked with cutting business regulations and government spending.
Mr Musk has been contacted for comment.