UK Pushing for Social Media Powers in Times of Crisis

Police and Fire Brigade personnel respond after protestors set fire to a bus on the Newtownards Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on June 9, 2026. Charles McQuillan/Getty ImagesThe UK government is preparing new powers to control content online during “times of crisis,” after unrest in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was sparked by viral footage of an alleged knife attack by a Sudanese asylum-seeker, which left a local man with serious head and neck wounds.Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said that next week, ministers will lay an update to the Online Safety Act before Parliament, requiring platforms to “take quicker action to remove illegal content circulating during times of crisis.”