Chairman of the National Assembly Science and Technology Committee: "SNS Influence on UK Violence"
Meta and TikTok Executives Also Expected to Attend
The UK Parliament is set to summon Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of X (formerly Twitter).
On the 20th (local time), according to the British daily The Guardian and the European edition of Politico, Chi Onura, chair of the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee from the ruling Labour Party, announced plans to hear explanations from Musk and other senior Big Tech executives about the impact of social media (SNS) on the violent incidents in the UK this summer.
From late July to August, anti-immigrant violent protests occurred in the UK related to a stabbing incident at a children's dance class, with the spread of rumors and incitement to violence through SNS cited as a major cause of the escalation.
The House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee began an official investigation into the impact of SNS on the violent incidents starting this day, and it is expected that executives from other companies such as Meta and TikTok will also be summoned for questioning in the future.
Chair Onura said, "Musk is the top representative of X and holds very strong views on issues such as misinformation, freedom of expression, and society." She added, "We very much hope he will share his thoughts with the committee, especially given his role as an advisor to then-President-elect Donald Trump."
However, Musk’s likelihood of appearing before Parliament does not seem very high. The Guardian reported that X did not respond to inquiries about Musk’s attendance at the UK Parliament, suggesting the possibility is low. It also noted that Musk held key positions in the second Trump administration and has been critical of the UK Labour government.
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