In a potential showdown between British parliament and tech mogul Elon Musk, MPs are considering summoning Musk to answer questions about the involvement of his platform, X, in the recent race riots that have shaken the United Kingdom. Labour MPs Chi Onwurah and Dawn Butler, both vying for the chairmanship of parliament's science, innovation, and technology committee, expressed their intent to grill Musk, along with other technology executives, regarding social media platforms' role during times of increasing unrest in the country.

Musk has been embroiled in a war of words with British politicians, particularly Prime Minister Keir Starmer, over the UK's handling of the riots. Earlier this week, Musk sparked controversy with a tweet stating, "civil war is inevitable" in the UK, while criticizing the one-sided response by British police. Additionally, when it came to light that misinformation had spread on his platform, X (formerly Twitter), wrongly identifying the attacker as an asylum seeker, Musk faced further backlash.

Both Onwurah and Butler, if elected to lead the tech scrutiny body, vowed to push for greater transparency from X. Onwurah, who previously served on Starmer's Labour opposition team, emphasized the importance of addressing algorithms that promote and amplify misinformation, as well as the spreading of racial hatred, and criticized platforms whose business models rely on such practices.

In line with her colleague, Butler also stressed the need to question all owners of social media platforms and understand the extent of their power and responsibility. She revealed having reported several abusive messages on X herself, only to be informed that they didn't meet the threshold for removal. Butler called for more transparency in the process and expressed her intention to summon Musk to the Commons committee if elected.

The prospect of a clash between Musk and the British parliament looms large. House of Commons committees possess the authority to summon individuals, documents, and records, and in extreme cases, issue a formal summons for attendance. However, this authority extends only to those present in the UK, and defiance of a committee's order could result in contempt of parliament. It is worth noting that previous attempts to question overseas tech executives, such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, have been met with resistance.

Drawing attention to Musk's "deplorable" comment about a potential civil war in the UK, a government minister emphasized the moral responsibility of social media companies to crack down on content that incites hatred.

As the race for the chairmanship of the science, innovation, and technology committee approaches, the focus on scrutinizing the role of social media platforms, with Musk at the center, raises significant implications for the future of tech regulation and online responsibility in the UK.