U.K. Plans to Fine Tech Executives for Illegal Weapon Sales Online

Technology company executives could be held personally liable for allowing illegal knives to be advertised on their platforms, under new British government plans to combat a recent rise in crime with weapons, some of which are readily available online.Under the proposals, the police could gain the power to issue notices to bosses of digital firms ordering them to remove content, possibly within just two days.Those who fail to comply could face significant fines.Holding social media executives personally liable for content posted by users would represent a significant shift in regulation of the internet.

Companies have long enjoyed certain legal protections to shield them from responsibility for the words, pictures and videos shared on their services.While the plans are still some way from becoming law, the initiative is part of a government commitment to fight growing cases of knife crime.Although such crimes are below prepandemic levels, they increased 4 percent in the 12 months before March 2024 in England and Wales, with a much larger rise of 13 percent in robberies involving knives.There were 225 homicides in England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2024, according to one charity.Earlier this year and before he became Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer gave his personal commitment to the families of victims of knife crime, meeting with several of them, including Pooja Kanda, whose son, Ronan, 16, was murdered in 2022 with a weapon bought online.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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