EDWARD LUCAS: Elon Musk should be in the dock over social media lies that have led violent thugs to rampage through our streets [Video]

13:02 EDT 05 Aug 2024, updated 06:22 EDT 06 Aug 2024

The thugs and bigots rampaging through our streets in the dreadful days since the Southport stabbings deserve severe punishment for their violent crimes.

But the giant businesses that enable the lies and exaggerations that fuel the riots should be in the dock too – as should the people who own them.

As the veteran Conservative MP John Whittingdale suggests, Ofcom, the media regulator, should haul in the tech companies that control so much of our lives and force them to remove material that constitutes incitement to riot.

Then, we need to face down their lobbyists and remove their protections and privileges – so that they are legally liable for the extraordinary harm they do.

No aspect of the swamp they have created is more damaging than the online anonymity they facilitate which allows anyone in …