The UK Government is to set up an Online Capability Centre and work with social media companies as part of its efforts to combat people smuggling.
The Prime Minister’s Office and the Home Office have announced the plans, saying that online content has played a significant role in fuelling the smuggling of people across borders – especially in the movement of small boats across the English Channel.
The Online Capability Centre will be led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Home Office, staffed by technical specialists and law enforcement officers who will focus on building a clearer picture of illegal immigration material online. They will work with internet companies to identify more material and notify the relevant platforms so they can take appropriate action.
It will also develop a bank of intelligence on criminal networks that are promoting people smuggling services online.
The centre is being backed by £11 million of funding.
Accelerate action
It will be supported by a voluntary partnership with social media companies to accelerate action to remove content and share best practice. This will includes exploring ways to step up efforts to redirect people away from the content when they come across it online, similar to those already made to divert internet users away from material promoting extremism or eating disorders.
Figures from the NCA show that over 90% of the online content linked to people smuggling is taken down when social media companies are notified, and the partnership aims to speed up the process and disrupt the tactics of criminal gangs that use the internet to lure people into paying for crossings.
The Government has also announced plans for a hackathon event to develop new tools to detect people smugglers’ online content and to get it removed as soon as possible.
Relevant content can include discount offers for groups of people, free spaces for children, offers of false documents and false claims of safe passage. The Government also pointed to gangs sharing information on illegal crossings.
Tackling business model
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “To stop the boats, we have to tackle the business model of vile people smugglers at source. That means clamping down on their attempts to lure people into making these illegal crossings and profit from putting lives at risk.
“This new commitment from tech firms will see us redouble our efforts to fight back against these criminals, working together to shut down their vile trade.”
The new partnership builds on the work of the Social Media Action Plan, a voluntary agreement between the Home Office, NCA and five social media platforms that has been in place since 2021 to strengthen the understanding of how organised criminals use their platforms to promote illegal activities. To date, this has led to more than 4,700 posts, pages or accounts being removed or suspended.
The Government also highlighted its work with the companies ahead of the Online Safety Bill coming into effect. It will require them to make sure they systems and processes are designed to prevent people coming into contact with illegal content, and to publish annual transparency reports on on what they are doing to tackle online harms.
