Social media bosses will face £10,000 fines for not removing posts that glorify knife crime

National Police Chiefs' Council lead for knife crime, Commander Stephen Clayman leaves 10 Downing Street
Commander Stephen Clayman says ‘for far too long, deadly weapons have been far too easily accessible online’ - Yui Mok/PA

Senior social media bosses will face fines of up to £10,000 if they fail to remove posts that glorify knife crime or advertise banned weapons under new legislation.

Executives will be held personally liable for knife crime content on their platforms in the same way that the Online Safety Act holds them accountable for persistent abuses of their duty of care to protect children from harm online.

The new laws, expected in a new crime and sentencing bill, will give police the power to issue notices to senior executives of online companies, ordering them to remove specific pieces of content, potentially within two days.

This could include videos glorifying knife violence or adverts promoting the purchase of banned weapons such as zombie knives or ninja swords.

The chief executive or nominated director of the company could be held liable for the fines, which will be civil penalties rather than leaving them with a criminal record.

The plan is similar to measures in the Online Safety Act, where executives can face up to two years in jail for failing to protect children from harms such as child abuse.

Zombie knives were outlawed by the last Conservative government
Zombie knives were outlawed by the last Conservative government - Joe Giddens/PA

Ninja swords will also be banned under the new laws in the same way as zombie knives were outlawed by the last Conservative government.

It will be illegal to possess, sell, manufacture or transport the weapons, with a maximum penalty of up to two years in jail.

It is already an offence to carry such weapons in public, punishable by up to four years in prison.

Anyone caught in possession of the weapons will face two years, while anyone caught selling knives to under-18s, including online, will also face two years behind bars.

The number of knife crime offences reported by police forces across England and Wales is close to record levels, passing 50,000 for only the second time since records began.

However, in London, they have already hit a record high of 15,859 in the year to June, up 16 per cent on the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Nationally, the number of police-recorded knife crime offences – which include their use in murder, rape, robbery and threats to kill – has risen 3.6 per cent from 49,187 to 50,973.

The only previous time the annual figures passed 50,000 was in 2020 when it reached 51,982.

Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said: “The epidemic of knife crime that has grown over the last decade is devastating families and communities right across the country.

“That’s why this government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next decade and today we’re taking determined action to get lethal blades off Britain’s streets.

“That means tough new sanctions for technology executives who fail to tackle illegal knife sales on their platforms, and a comprehensive ban on ninja swords.

“These announcements follow the tireless campaigning of Pooja Kanda, whose son Ronan was killed in 2022 after his teenage killer unlawfully obtained a ninja sword online. Those who enable or perpetrate these crimes must face the full force of the law.”

Commander Stephen Clayman, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime, said: “For far too long, deadly weapons have been far too easily accessible online, with content promoting their use for protection and combat rife on many platforms and seemingly little being done to remove it.”