Edward Grange Comments On False Information Cases in Wake of Riots Test UK’s Online Safety Law

Edward Grange, partner at Corker Binning, comments in the Financial Times on the Online Safety Act facing “its first significant test” with false information cases linked to the recent UK riots.

Prosecutors are using the 2023 Act, which prohibits the spread of false information and criminalises harm caused by online activities, to pursue those alleged to have incited social unrest by posting misinformation around the Southport murders.

“Campaign groups, during the bill stage when the proposed legislation was being debated, raised concerns about the impact of the new offences on the rights of freedom of speech,” Edward says.

“The courts will likely consider in the coming months and years the fine line between that right and the line where criminality begins when it comes to online speech,” he adds.

You can read the comments in full in the Financial Times.