New UK Proposal To Fine Tech Leaders Over Online Knife, Weapon Sales

Technology company executives will be held personally liable if their platforms enable the selling or advertising of illegal weapons, such as knives, under the new measures proposed by the British government to help address knife crime. The measures aim at curbing access to knives through online means and would form part of the strategy the government would adopt in dealing with violent crimes involving knives across England and Wales.

Personal Liability For Tech Executives

New laws will be enacted which would arm law enforcement with the authority to instruct digital companies to immediately remove illegal posts of weapons—they could order this within two days of posting. Dire warning signals that the policy governing the internet services is leaning more and more in favor of making sure tech executives remain safe from personal liability for the content on their sites. But this proposal would put the onus on the more senior figures to ensure that their sites are free of dangerous content.

Trends That Escalate Knife Crime Leaders Respond

The increase in knife crime is reflected in the campaign, which increased by 4% in the year up to March 2024. The trend seems to have bitten especially hard in cities, with London Metropolitan Police accounting for 30% of all recorded knife crime and West Midlands, covering Birmingham and Coventry, responsible for another 10%. Knife robberies grew even more steeply: in the same period, there was a 13 percent increase, and meanwhile, in England and Wales, there were 225 homicides involving knives in the year to June 2024.

Knife crime apparently caused government public outcry and politics, including promises from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In the early months of the year, he first met with family members of knife crime victims, like Pooja Kanda whose 16-year-old son Ronan was killed with a weapon bought on the internet in 2022. Kanda welcomed the efforts of the government by saying, it would play a crucial role as banning some weapons-such as the “ninja sword” by which her son was murdered-would play an essential role.

According to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, “Knife crime is a devastating scourge on families and communities across the country. We need to halve knife crime within the next decade.” The measures will first be put on consultation before being taken forward as a legislative measure.

This is not the first time that the government has cracked down on dangerous weapons. Indeed, in September, it expanded the list of prohibited items to include machetes and “zombie knives,” large, serrated weapons often sporting multiple sharp points. These items, infamous for causing grievous harm, are off-limits now.

UK Steps Over, But Tilts To Online Regulation Trend

The UK’s proposed ban is seen within the context of the broader trend of more regulation around the globe for digital platforms. Pressure from countries worldwide has been mounting on social media firms to monitor and restrain harmful content. Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested recently in France for allegedly incriminating criminal activities that had taken place on his platform. Brazil suspended a social media platform X for a while due to its failure to abide by requests for the removal of certain content. Australia, even proposed an age for access to social media.

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