Ofcom announced on Friday that X has agreed to tighten protections for users in the United Kingdom against illegal hate speech and content linked to terrorism. The regulator said the commitments come after several months of sustained regulatory pressure on the social media platform.
Under the terms outlined by Ofcom, X will aim to review suspected illegal posts related to hate or terrorism within 24 hours on average, and will ensure that at least 85% of such posts are assessed within 48 hours. The regulator framed these targets as a measurable timetable for handling potentially unlawful material.
In addition to the review timelines, Ofcom said X pledged to restrict access from within Britain to accounts that are operated by or on behalf of organizations proscribed under U.K. terrorism laws. The company also agreed to provide quarterly performance data to Ofcom for the next year, enabling the regulator to monitor compliance and progress against the commitments.
Ofcom added that X will work with external experts to improve its reporting systems. This step addresses concerns raised by civil society groups, which had flagged that reports of problematic content were not always clearly received or followed up on by the platform.
Oliver Griffiths, director of Ofcom's online safety group, said the regulator has evidence that terrorist content and illegal hate speech continue to appear on some of the largest social media services. He emphasized the importance of the issue in the U.K., noting it follows a number of recent hate-motivated crimes affecting the country's Jewish community.
X, which regularly states that it enforces bans on terrorist groups and hateful content, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the commitments described by Ofcom.
The package of measures agreed with Ofcom centers on three operational elements: faster review metrics for flagged material, geographically targeted restrictions on accounts linked to proscribed organizations, and enhanced transparency through quarterly reporting. The commitment to engage outside expertise targets reported shortcomings in the platform's intake and handling of flagged content.
While Ofcom framed these actions as steps to strengthen user protections, the regulator will receive the quarterly performance reports over the next year to evaluate whether X implements the agreed changes effectively.