The UK government has called on social media companies to do more after a list purporting to contain the names and addresses of immigration lawyers was spread online. The list first appeared on the message app, Telegram, accompanied by the statement “no more immigration”, but has now been disseminated on other platforms. According to the BBC, police have advised immigration lawyers to work from home, install fireproof letterboxes and board up their office windows. One lawyer on the list claimed she was threatened repeatedly and warned she was “on a hitlist.”
The Law Society has described the list as a “very credible threat” to its members. Nick Emmerson, the society’s president, said that the negative discourse about lawyers demonstrated the direct harm it could do. Jim McMahon, the minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said he was “concerned” but it was unclear whether protests or other actions would occur or if the list was intended only to create fear and disquiet.
Henry Parker of the fact-checking company, Logically, said that the government could not yet use the Online Safety Act to tackle the spread of misinformation. Despite the Government’s continued efforts to clamp down on fake news on social media platforms, the powers of the Online Safety Act – which would enable the authorities to address the dissemination of fake news – have not yet come into force.
Cleveland Police Chief Constable, Mark Webster, has urged people to be cautious when responding to information about immigration lawyers and to rely solely on official communications. Meanwhile, Ciaran O’Connor of the online extremism think-tank, ISD, accused Telegram of a “hands-off approach to tackling disinformation and all shapes of extremism” on its platform. Critics have called for more stringent regulation of social media outlets
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