FOI 850/25

Request

I would like to know what legislation and/or powers the police apply to access and freeze social media posts so that they may not be edited?

Response

We consulted with our Crime & Criminal Justice department who have provided the below response to your request.

South Wales Police can ask social media companies to take down a post if it breaches the social media’s own policies but are unable to do anything to “freeze” a post.  That is a decision for a social media company.

Members of the public can also report posts to social media companies.

In terms of “Access”, content is currently secured by Police under the MLAT process, Mutual legal assistance - GOV.UK, which is effectively a court order.