UK’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has warned social media platforms to remove extreme and illegal content, said a report by Telegraph. She expressed concern that just such content could encourage people to commit acts of violence. 

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Cooper’s statement came after Axel Rudakubana, convicted of murdering three young girls in Southport, had access to violent materials online before the attack.  

Rudakubana, sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison, viewed content including footage of an Islamist attack on an Australian bishop and downloaded an al-Qaeda manual. Despite the materials being flagged by the Home Office as aiding terrorism trials, they remain accessible on some platforms.  

Cooper and Science Secretary Peter Kyle have written to major social media companies, including Google, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Meta, urging immediate removal of the content. Their letter emphasized the need for platforms to act swiftly to prevent further unlawful access to such materials, particularly those linked to Rudakubana’s case.  

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While stricter regulations under the Online Safety Act will require tech companies to remove illegal content from March, the ministers urged immediate voluntary action. 

They argued that companies have a moral obligation to prioritise public safety and ensure harmful content is not used to inspire further violence.  

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The investigations revealed that Rudakubana searched for graphic footage of the Australian attack, which remains available in the UK despite being removed in Australia. 

Law enforcement agencies have also faced challenges accessing the suspect’s full internet history.  Rudakubana deleted all the records before carrying out the attack. 

The case has prompted renewed scrutiny of the UK’s counter-radicalisation program 'Prevent', particularly regarding individuals with a fixation on violent acts, such as school massacres. 

Cooper has called for an end-to-end review to address gaps in how neurodiverse individuals are assessed within the program.  

Additionally, the government is considering measures to tighten online knife sales. Rudakubana purchased the weapon used in the killings from Amazon at 17, despite prior offences involving knives. Proposed changes may require stricter ID verification for such purchases.