Give Big Fines to Firms Like X Promoting Hate and Disinformation, Democracy Groups Urge PM

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Campaigners are calling on the Government to introduce strict penalties for firms like X (formerly Twitter) accused of promoting disinformation and hate speech – alongside an overhaul of Britain’s media – to help restore accountability and trust in public debate. 

In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer to mark the International Day of Democracy (September 15), leading democracy and civil society advocates also caution the PM against the temptation to “hoard power in Whitehall” as he seeks to get his Government back on track. 

In a new report, Democracy SOS, the signatories – including Unlock Democracy and Labour-facing group Compass – call on the Prime Minister to crack down on disinformation, including sanctions for social media companies doing too little to combat deceptive material about matters of public interest.

Backers of the campaign urge PM Starmer to use the recently-announced ‘Phase 2’ of his premiership to “lead a democratic revolution – rewiring the relationship between Whitehall and the rest of the country, and unleashing the full potential of people across the UK.”

They also want to see a cap on political donations alongside restoring the independence of the Electoral Commission, to “ensure politics serves citizens, not vested interests.” The Government has previously rejected calls for a cap on donations but pressure is growing for strong action ahead of Labour’s upcoming Elections Bill.

And they urge the PM to tackle the “expansion of plutocratic control over the media” through stricter limits on media ownership, to “guard against the erosion of fair and objective reporting.” In a new proposal, local communities would also be given financial and regulatory support to take community ownership of local media outlets.

Dr Simon Duffy, Director of Citizen Network, which comprises 315 organisations from over 50 countries, said that in many parts of the UK, “people feel dispossessed, while in London a handful of people make all the key decisions.” 

“We have lost hope that the existing political system will address the extreme inequalities and many of us are turning to more extreme alternatives. We really need a different kind of democracy, one that is rooted in our neighbourhoods and town halls. One where ordinary people are allowed to be involved in debating and deciding things for ourselves.”

A new Democracy SOS action plan sets out how the Government can make the shift. But the report also warns of the consequences of inaction: without serious reform, trust will continue to erode, disengagement will deepen, and those who exploit fear and division will gain ground.

Dr Henry Tam, writer, former Head of Civil Renewal for the UK Government, and author of Democracy SOS, added: “A weakened democracy is so much easier for charlatans to exploit and bring in arbitrary rule. If politicians don’t save democracy while they still can, they’ll be the ones to blame when the abuse of power becomes the norm under an unscrupulous regime. 

“We’ve seen it happening elsewhere, and we don’t want the UK to end up the same way. Democracy SOS sums up what leading advocates say urgently needs to be done. The Government should act on it.”

The report argues that Britain cannot hope to tackle poverty, climate disruption, housing shortages or health crises without a functioning democracy. 

Tom Brake, Director of Unlock Democracy, said the Prime Minister “now has a chance to show real leadership by giving citizens the tools, rights and opportunities to bring about the change they want to see.”

“This is his moment to strengthen democracy – not only for today, but for the generations to come,” Brake said. The groups have written to the PM calling for urgent action. 

Proposals from the new Democracy SOS plan to tackle mis- and disinformation include setting up a “robust financial penalty system” to restrain social media companies from facilitating deception about matters of public interest (including the use of AI manipulation to deceive on their platforms). 

And they want to ensure high standards in the press too, through levying “deterrent-level fines” and enforcing the prominent display of apologies and corrections when dissemination is detected.

The report also calls for guaranteed transparency and accountability from Britain’s think tanks, by requiring them to disclose their overall funders and the financing of particular reports. 

It comes after X owner Elon Musk joined the far-right Tommy Robinson demonstration via video link on Saturday where he was accused of inciting violence, telling anti-migrant protesters “violence is coming” and urging the crowd to “fight back or you die”. 

On Monday, the PM’s spokesman responded by saying: “The UK is a fair, tolerant and decent country. The last thing that British people want is dangerous and inflammatory language which threatens violence and intimidation on our streets.” British people will have “no truck” with it, he added. However, there is no suggestion of tougher regulatory action against the platform or its owner. 

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Josiah Mortimer

Letter in Full

Dear Sir Keir, on International Democracy Day we have pleasure in sharing and commending ‘Democracy SOS’ to you – a report by writer and educator Henry Tam, produced in collaboration with Citizen Network, Compass and Unlock Democracy.

The report sets out an 8-point action plan for democratic renewal. Its central message is simple: the future of our country depends on empowering people directly to shape the decisions that affect their lives. Rather than retreating into centralised power and control, we urge you to use phase 2 of your premiership to lead a democratic revolution – rewiring the relationship between Whitehall and the rest of the country, and unleashing the full potential of people across the UK.

Democracy SOS brings together many of the best ideas from across civil society and academic research. We believe implementing its essential proposals would provide the strongest guarantee against citizens turning their backs on the prevailing system of Government and giving their support to demagogues and autocrats. They would enable citizens to participate meaningfully in our democracy and help restore trust in our democratic institutions.

Key measures set out in the report include:

• Going further and faster in devolving meaningful power and money-raising capacity to local communities, ensuring decisions are taken as close to communities as possible;
• Setting up deliberative fora to consider controversial policies and engage citizens in solutions;
• Granting local people a right to shape public services;
• Introducing a robust penalty system for social media companies that facilitate deception about matters of public interest;
• Supporting the development of independent fact-checking bodies;
• Capping the size of political donations to reduce large donor influence, and ensuring free and fair elections by restoring the Electoral Commission’s independence;
• Making every vote count by introducing a proportional voting system.

We urge you to be bold. This is an opportunity for your Government to put power back where it belongs – with the people – and to make democracy the foundation for tackling the great challenges of our time.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss Democracy SOS with you, especially in the context of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and forthcoming Elections Bill.

Yours sincerely,

• Henry Tam, writer, former Head of Civil Renewal for the UK Government, and author of Democracy SOS
• Simon Duffy, Director, Citizen Network
• Tom Brake, Director, Unlock Democracy
• Neal Lawson, Director, Compass

Got a story? Get in touch in confidence on josiah@bylinetimes.com 

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