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Elon Musk is set to be called to give evidence by the UK Parliament about the operations of social media platform X, under a plan drawn up by a leading candidate to become chairman of the parliamentary group.
Dawn Butler, a Labour politician standing to chair the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, told the Financial Times that the US-based billionaire owner of X was “someone I would like to have as a witness”.
“It is vital that the Commission formally investigates the use of algorithms in promoting hateful content on X and other social media platforms, and the moderation of such content,” Butler said.
Her rival for the chair, Labour MP Chi Onwurah, also supports an investigation into social media companies’ use of algorithms, particularly how they generate misinformation and profits.
Their focus on social media and misinformation comes as authorities around the world grapple with Musk’s outsized influence and the impact his policy rhetoric has on politics in democracies.
British authorities complained last month that they faced resistance from X when they asked it to remove posts it deemed a threat to national security during England’s worst riots in more than a decade.
Musk also taunted Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with an X during the unrest, claiming that a “civil war is inevitable” in the U.K. Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Butler’s remarks.
Nominations for House of Commons chairpersons closed on Monday and elections for the contentious posts are scheduled for Wednesday. All lawmakers have the right to vote if there are opposing candidates. The House of Commons has 26 select committees that typically scrutinize ministers, civil servants and senior figures in areas related to the investigation.
While lawmakers cannot compel witnesses to appear, they can hold people in “contempt of Congress” if they ignore a formal summons, a sanction that is only symbolic in practice.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and retail magnate Sir Philip Green were among the business leaders who initially refused to appear before the select committee but later relented: In 2011, MPs sent a deputy House of Commons chambers of justice to serve subpoenas on Murdoch’s British newspaper headquarters.
The position of Chair is a highly respected position in Parliament and seen as a career launch pad for ambitious new MPs and a prestigious position for seasoned party leaders. Chairs receive an MP’s basic salary of £91,346 plus an allowance of £18,309.
The proportion of chairs given to British political parties is based on the results of the last general election, although some posts, including the leadership of the Public Accounts Committee, are reserved for the current opposition Conservative Party.
Labour won a landslide victory in July, securing the majority of the posts, including the finance, business, defence, education and energy committees, while the Conservatives have been negotiating the culture, home affairs, government and constitutional affairs posts.
The Liberal Democrats will be leading select committees covering two of the policy areas they have campaigned most hard on over the past year: health and social care, and environment, food and rural issues.
Labour MP Meg Hillier, who chaired the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee from 2015 to 2024, has been elected unopposed to the high-profile role of chair of the Treasury Committee, which will oversee the work of Chancellor Rachel Reeves and her department.
Hillier, a former permanent secretary under former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, will have the crucial task of scrutinising Chancellor Reeves’ first budget, due to be presented on October 30, which will include “painful” measures that the chancellor has said are necessary to balance the budget.
Additional reporting by George Hammond
