Issue Unregulated online spaces widening access to radicalising material

Summary

The report warns that online spaces with growing gaps in regulation or monitoring could give vulnerable individuals more chances to encounter harmful or radicalising material. Terrorist threats are already increasingly organised around online communities, and the internet can serve as an enabler of radicalisation. There is also evidence that the spread of extreme violent content online is accelerating self-radicalisation among people drawn to violence without an ideological motive. The report suggests that stronger regulation of online spaces such as the Online Safety Act 2023, together with higher standards and monitoring by social media firms to detect disinformation and radicalisation, can improve overall safety. It also links this to the chronic risk of disinformation and misinformation, since terrorist groups may keep using them to sow division in Western societies.