Media regulator Ofcom needs more powers to remove posts such as those which encouraged the 2024 summer riots, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary says.
Sir Andy Cooke said it took too long to remove misinformation on social media, allowing it to spread further and have a greater impact.
He said the Online Safety Act – despite being only recently passed – did not give the regulator the tools it needed to contain such content.
“Ofcom needs to have the proper capacity and capability to get posts taken down quickly if it’s going to be effective,” he said.
“If you don’t get them down quickly, they spread virally.”
The Online Safety Act currently had “little or no bearing” on scenarios such as last summer’s violent disorder, he added.
But Ofcom told the BBC it was not its role under the act to “assess individual pieces of content or take down specific posts.”
“Instead, our powers involve making sure sites and apps have effective systems and processes in place to protect people from illegal material, and ensure children do not encounter other harmful content,” the regulator said.
“If platforms fail to act and put their users at risk in the process, they can expect to face enforcement action.”
At the time of the unrest, Ofcom faced criticism for not doing more to rein in the spread of untrue and inflammatory content.
It has previously concluded there was a “clear connection” between the disorder in England and posts on social media and messaging apps.
Sir Andy made the remarks as His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services published its second report on the police response to the riots, focussing on the impact of social media.
More than 30 people have been arrested for posts they made during the riots, which were sparked by the killing of three children in Southport.
Among them were Tyler Kay, 26, and Jordan Parlour, 28, who were sentenced to 38 months and 20 months in prison respectively for stirring up racial hatred on social media.
In its first report on the riots published in 2024, the watchdog found police were unprepared for the scale of disorder that broke out in parts of the UK.
Sir Andy said police had missed opportunities to prepare for widespread disorder, and earlier incidents involving “extreme nationalist sentiment” had been underestimated.
In the new report, he said some police forces were found to have “exceptionally limited” ability to deal with online posts due to a lack of resources.
And he has called for laws to be changed around inciting public disorder to further deter people from making misleading social media posts.
“Forces can’t control or counter the speed and volume of online content,” he said.
“But they need to better appreciate how fast-moving events will require them to counter the false narratives online and be innovative in their approach.”
He said he believed police should “fill the information void” which enables disinformation to spread, so people can counter it with facts.
“Policing cannot be passive when public safety is at risk,” he said.
