FLASH
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Up to 5 years in prison or a hefty fine. This is the legal measure that will face not only the smugglers who organize the passage of migrants in small boats across the English Channel towards the United Kingdom, but also those who advertise this 'business' on social networks.
This appears to be the latest measure the British Government will apply to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, while the legal change will make it a specific criminal offence to create materials for online publication that promote or offer services that would lead to a breach of UK immigration law.
This includes advertising small boat crossings, selling counterfeit passports, visas and other travel documents, and promoting illegal work opportunities in the UK.
In quite a few cases, such advertisements have been published on social media by Albanians, which not only guaranteed fast transportation, but also advertised the services.
The government will make the change through an amendment to the border security bill, which is going through its final stages in the House of Lords, The Guardian writes.
Eighty percent of migrants who arrived in the UK by small boats told government officials they had used social media during their journey, including to find or communicate with smugglers, according to Home Office data.
The department said it wanted to crack down on smugglers who sell a false narrative about life in the UK to desperate asylum seekers, by criminalising those who promise illegal work online.
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said that "selling the false promise of safe travel to the UK and a life in this country, whether online or offline, simply to make money, is simply immoral."
"These criminals have no problem putting migrants in life-threatening situations using shameless tactics on social media. We are determined to do everything we can to stop them – wherever they operate," she said.
The change will also make it a crime to post content online that encourages someone to break UK immigration law in exchange for money.
Rob Jones, director general for operations at the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: “We know that many of the people smuggling networks who risk their lives transporting people to the UK promote their services to migrants using social media. The majority of migrants arriving in the UK will have engaged with smugglers in this way.”
The NCA has taken action against organised crime groups using social media to promote border crossings, including a gang based in South Wales convicted in November 2024 after smuggling thousands of people across Europe.
The gang used social media videos posted by people who had successfully crossed the border to promote the service.
Another network operated by Preston-based smuggler Amanj Hasan Zada, who was later jailed for 17 years, also posted videos of people thanking Zada for the help he had given them.
There have been cases of Albanian smugglers using social media to promote “packages” worth £12,000 to get to the UK, including accommodation and employment, which will also fall under the scope of the new law.
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