Elon Musk’s social media platform X has agreed to strengthen moderation of hate speech and terrorist content in the United Kingdom following mounting pressure from British regulator Ofcom.
Under the agreement, X committed to reviewing reports of suspected illegal hate speech and terrorism-related posts within an average of 24 hours. The platform also pledged to assess at least 85% of flagged content within 48 hours after users report it.
The company further agreed to block UK access to accounts connected to terrorist organizations banned under British law. Ofcom said X will additionally work with external experts to improve its reporting systems after criticism that users often received little follow-up after reporting harmful content.
The commitments come after increased scrutiny of X under the UK’s Online Safety Act. British regulators warned that illegal extremist material, antisemitic content, and hate speech continued circulating widely on major social media platforms, including X.
Ofcom said it will monitor X’s compliance over the next 12 months through mandatory quarterly transparency reports submitted by the company. Regulators plan to compare the platform’s actual moderation performance against the commitments it publicly made.
The crackdown follows several high-profile incidents in the UK involving antisemitic violence and rising concerns over online radicalization. British authorities have increasingly pressured technology companies to remove extremist material faster and prevent banned groups from using mainstream platforms.
Since Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 and later rebranded it as X, the platform has repeatedly faced criticism from researchers, advocacy organizations, and regulators over alleged increases in hate speech, misinformation, and extremist content.
X has simultaneously positioned itself as a defender of free speech, with Musk frequently criticizing European and British online safety regulations as censorship.
The UK pressure campaign is also unfolding while X and Musk’s AI chatbot Grok remain under separate investigations tied to deepfake abuse and illegal content generation. Earlier this year, Ofcom opened a formal investigation after reports that Grok had been used to generate sexualized fake images of women and minors.
Regulators in the European Union, Australia, and Singapore have also increased scrutiny of X’s moderation systems and transparency practices. The EU previously investigated the platform under the Digital Services Act over concerns involving disinformation, algorithmic transparency, and illegal content handling.
Despite the new commitments, some civil society groups argue that the measures still fall short. Critics say X has dramatically reduced moderation staffing since Musk’s takeover and continues relying heavily on automated systems and community reporting rather than proactive enforcement.