Tech companies ‘risk another Southport’, warns home secretary
Terrorist material viewed by Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana could inspire another atrocity unless tech companies take action, the home secretary has warned.
In a letter seen by Sky News to TikTok, X, Meta and Google, Yvette Cooper and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle warned the potential consequences of leaving dangerous content online have been “laid bare”.
This week, the court heard how Rudakubana “easily” downloaded an al Qaeda training manual and watched graphic footage of a terrorist knife attack in the hours before he murdered three young girls.
The manual remains available online, despite its inclusion in a Home Office list of illegal material that “may be useful to an individual preparing to carry out an act of mass violence or terrorism”, the letter said.
Graphic footage showing the stabbing of Sydney bishop Mari Emmanuel also remains available in the UK despite being removed by authorities in Australia.
Yvette Cooper after the attack in Southport. File pic: PA
The home and technology secretaries asked the companies to “swiftly remove any unlawful material on this list available on your services, including the material used by Axel Rudakubana”.
“The ease of access to such dangerous, illegal content is unacceptable,” the ministers wrote.
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‘Our lives went with them – he took us too’
From March, companies will have to remove illegal content, including violent material, from their platforms under the new Online Safety Act.
From the summer, they’ll also have to take action on content that is inappropriate for children.
The two ministers told the tech giants they have a “moral responsibility” to take action on this content now.
“There is no justification for waiting for laws to kick in,” they said.
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Axel Rudakubana received the second-longest life sentence in English history on Thursday after pleading guilty in court.
The 18-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years for the murder of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in July last year at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
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