The discovery of a body after an explosion and fire at Treforest Industrial Estate in Rhondda Cynon Taf has prompted an MP to call for the sharing of distressing incidents on social media to be prohibited. Alex Davies-Jones, MP for Pontypridd, expressed concern about the absence of prompt removal of “horrendous” content by social media platforms and the inflammatory effect of “really, really graphic footage” on “grieving and distressed” communities. She said she had raised these issues with the police and called for the UK government to “close the gaps” in online safety.
Davies-Jones spoke in the House of Commons, where she urged UK ministers to encourage social media companies “to take their responsibilities seriously”. A major incident was declared during the fire, which took place in a two-storey building, on Wednesday. One crew remains at the scene as firefighters tackle three hotspots. Meanwhile, tributes have been paid throughout the week to Callum Griffiths, aged 19, and Jesse Owen and Morgan Smith, both 18, who died in a crash near the Treforest Industrial Estate. Two others were left with life-threatening injuries.
Davies-Jones described the events as having hit a “close-knit community very hard” and said her thoughts were with the victims’ loved ones. She added that “distressing footage from both scenes and malicious, cruel posts about the victims” had been uploaded. Davies-Jones requested a meeting with UK ministers to discuss a “way forward” to resolve safety gaps online, which received support from Penny Mordaunt, the Commons leader, who also expressed sadness at the accidents that had happened in Davies-Jones’ constituency
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