Social media platforms should face election rules similar to broadcasters to help protect democracy, Labour Deputy Leader Lucy Powell has claimed. She wants new election-specific obligations on the largest online platforms to combat misinformation and foreign interference in the democratic process.
Proposed Legal Duties on Social Media Giants
Ms Powell will move to strengthen the Representation of the People Bill with legal duties on major social media platforms like X and Meta during election periods. The close ally of Andy Burnham believes platforms should be treated like broadcasters and wants the Electoral Commission to work with Ofcom and social media companies to establish a digital code of practice and framework for election periods.
Concerns Over Misinformation and Deepfakes
Speaking about the proposals, Ms Powell said: 'Today, millions of people get their news from social media, yet our laws haven't kept pace. The biggest influence on what many voters see during election campaigns is not a TV news bulletin—it's social media feeds decided by opaque algorithms, where falsehoods, deepfakes and coordinated mis and disinformation can spread at alarming speed with real world consequences.'
She emphasised that freedom of expression remains fundamental to democracy: 'These proposals are not about policing political opinions or censoring legitimate political debate. They are about asking how we can make sure the public can make informed choices based on accurate information.'
Current Regulatory Gap
While broadcasters are subject to rules designed to protect fairness and public confidence during elections, social media platforms are not subject to similar election-period requirements. Ms Powell warned: 'Hostile actors, bad-faith campaigners, and bot farms can be used to distort democratic debate, spewing hate online threatening democracy and targeting election candidates. We must make sure we have the right framework in place to strengthen the integrity of elections.'
She added: 'Protecting free and fair elections is above party politics. We all have a stake in ensuring that elections are decided by informed voters—not by bots, manipulated algorithms or foreign interference.'
Government Actions Against X
This week, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced she and her department are quitting Elon Musk's X, lashing out at it for allowing 'abuse and misinformation' to spread. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport warned the platform, formerly known as Twitter, is not healthy for Britain's democracy. Hers is the largest government department to quit the platform so far, although several individual ministers and MPs have announced their own boycotts.
