The UK’s Culture Minister has suspended X for ‘cruelty and misrepresentation’ | Social Media News

The UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport will also stop using social media.

The United Kingdom’s Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has quit X, accusing the social media site of promoting “bullying and misrepresentation of important debates”.

Nandy has previously raised concerns about online security and the spread of fake news on the platform.

In a letter on X Thursday, he announced that the Department of Culture, Media and Sport would also withdraw from the platform, which he added was “not good for our democracy or our communities”.

There was no immediate comment from X.

DCMS is the second UK government department to stop using X after the Attorney General’s Office, which stopped using the platform last month. The Attorney General defended his decision to ban his office from posting on X, telling MPs it “always boils down to racism and sexism”.

Nandy says she will remain active on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Critics in the UK, US, and other countries have accused Elon Musk, the owner of X, of removing controls designed to protect against wrongdoing, discrimination, and abuse. Some say that since Musk took ownership of Twitter in 2022, renaming it X, the platform has fostered extremism and a “toxic” online culture that undermines “divisiveness”.

This caused many newspapers, celebrities and organizations to leave X.

X under strict legal supervision

Nandy’s announcement comes as Musk’s platform faces increased scrutiny and political pressure in the UK and elsewhere over concerns about cyber security, fraud and artificial intelligence.

In January, the UK’s media regulator, Ofcom, opened an investigation into X over concerns that its Grok AI chatbot was being used to create and share illegal intimate images, including those involving children.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer described some of the images as “disgusting” and “illegal”, while ministers said the platform had a duty to protect users from harmful content.

Last month, Starmer unveiled a TV ban for under-16s which he said would take back their childhood.

Musk has repeatedly criticized the UK’s approach to internet regulation, saying measures – including the Online Safety Act, which is due to be passed in October 2023 – risk stifling free speech.