Elon Musk’s X will crack down on hate speech and terror-related content in the UK, promising British online safety regulator Ofcom that it will review any such content reported by users within roughly 24 hours.

Ofcom announced the news on its website on Friday, cautiously praising the new commitment and vowing to “monitor the social media platform closely” over the next 12 months.

The UK’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) said the new initiative comes after a period of “intensive engagement” between X and its online safety team.

“We have evidence that terrorist content and illegal hate speech is persisting on some of the largest social media sites,” said Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom’s Online Safety Group Director.

X bows to UK pressure

Ofcom's Griffith said the communications watchdog is expecting X to take “firm action” in removing illegal content on the platform, citing the uptick of “recent hate-motivated crimes suffered by the country’s Jewish community.”

According to the governemnt-approved regulatory body, X has vowed to focus its content regulations around three major initiatives:

• Expedited timescales for reviewing illegal hate and terror content.
• Engaging with experts regarding reporting systems for illegal hate and terror content.
• Action against accounts operated by or on behalf of proscribed organizations

X said it will launch a “dedicated UK illegal content reporting tool” for users to report such content, which will then be reviewed and assessed within roughly a 24-hour window, with a guarantee that 85% of reported materials will be reviewed within a 48-hour window.

Ofcom says fostering communication with British online safety advocates will help stem confusion about whether the platform has actually received alerts on specific content, and also help safety groups monitor whether action was taken to address them.

Last December, the watchdog group began assessing how big social media platforms handled reports and were legally compliant with UK authorities, particularly in responding to antisemitic and anti-Muslim materials.

Finally, X has committed to banning user access to accounts that have been reported for posting UK-illegal terrorist content and found to be operating on behalf of a UK-designated terror organization.

Hate speech, terror activity scrutiny grows

“X is now part of the UK's social fabric, and with that comes a civic responsibility to keep the public square safe,” said Adam Hadley CBE, Chief Executive of Tech Against Terrorism, adding that the organization welcomes X’s commitment to improve targeted removal times of illegal content.

Founded in 2017, Tech Against Terrorism works with law enforcement and government agencies to disrupt online terrorist activity, identify threats, and prevent attacks, while protecting freedom of speech.

The group has recently warned about the dramatic increase in AI-generated content shared in terrorist and violent extremist spaces.

“This is a powerful example of what constructive dialogue between regulators and platforms can deliver, and we hope it builds momentum for similar collaboration across the sector,” Hadley said.

Ofcom says it is currently working with nearly a dozen expert organizations on “a large-scale analysis” of how effectively major platforms deal with illegal hate and terrorism content once they become aware of it.

These groups incide British Future, the Antisemitism Policy Trust, Center for Countering Digital Hate, Community Security Trust, Good Law Project, HOPE not hate, Tech Against Terrorism, and Tell MAMA.

Ofcom says X will be required to submit quarterly reports to the agency over the next 12 months to ensure the platform is honoring its commitments.

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