UK ethics panel advises May social media must be punished for illegal content

London

UK Prime Minister Theresa May should legislate to prosecute or fine social media companies such as Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Google Inc if they fail to remove illegal content, a panel that advises her on ethics said.

Paul Bew, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, called on the government to shift the liability of content to the companies, so that they become publishers, not merely platforms for content.