Dear John,

Supposedly, Brexit allowed the UK to “take back control”…so why does Elon Musk, a Silicon Valley billionaire with no respect for British values or institutions, have so much sway in our national debates?

Musk has clashed with Keir Starmer this week over a series of erratic “X” posts. Musk accused Starmer of “attacking free speech” by arresting racist rioters, accusing him of running a “Soviet Britain” that will inevitably lead to “civil war”. Starmer rightly pointed out that Musk doesn’t speak for Britain – he barely seems to know the first thing about this country.

In the immediate aftermath, the media carried reports that the government was considering reviewing the Online Safety Act to tighten-up regulation of the big tech platforms and the people who control them.

But Starmer has now seemingly backed down on the legislation that could hold Musk – and the rest of the new digital media barons – to account in Britain. Instead of reviewing the provisions of the Online Safety Act, he’s called for ([link removed]) “getting the existing act implemented quickly and effectively.”

It will take more than a bit of tinkering around the edges to take back control from Musk and his tech-bro mates. If we want to be a truly sovereign nation with our own democratic decision-making power, we need to “take back control” of our information environment.

Here’re three things Starmer should do if he’s serious about preventing more disinformation-fuelled disruption.
1. Hold Musk personally and directly accountable. As one former Twitter exec suggested ([link removed]) yesterday, an arrest warrant or other form of personal sanction may make Musk think twice about inciting violence. As a first step, Musk should be called before a Parliamentary committee and forced to explain his actions. Beyond that, Starmer could consider making those with a controlling interest in social media platforms personally liable for compliance breaches.
2. Properly regulate big tech and get platforms to act. Whether it’s a revised OSB or a new bill entirely, Starmer needs to understand the power of digital platforms and the complete impunity they operate with in this country. In giving them free rein, he’s ensuring that Musk and others have unprecedented and undesirable power to influence our political debates. Goals #12 and #13 of our Functional Democracy Goals ([link removed]) report show how to do it.
3. Regard this as a wake-up call for wider democratic reform. This could be a seminal moment for Starmer’s government. He could lay out a new platform for democracy, recognising that our system has not kept pace with emerging technology and acknowleding the urgent need to ensure that foreign billionaires are never in a position to incite violence on our streets with the ease and impunity they can now.

Brexiters may only have had the mythical ‘unelected EU bureaucrats’ in mind when they invented the phrase “take back control”, but it can be applied equally well to the political crisis we’re in right now. We have no collective say in our information environment. Each one of us rendered voiceless in comparison to tech titans like Elon Musk – who seem determined to use their power to divide and polarise us.

The challenges we face are undeniably complex, but inaction is no longer an option. Too many of our communities have been scarred by extreme violence in recent weeks, violence driven by online disinformation distributed by dangerously unaccountable individuals like Musk. OB’s message to Starmer: this is a moment for bold leadership, not hesitation.

All the best,

Mark Kieran

CEO, Open Britain
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