Facebook needs far stricter regulation, with tough and urgent action necessary to end the spread of disinformation on its platform, UK MPs have said. A Commons committee has concluded that the firm's founder Mark Zuckerberg failed to show "leadership or personal responsibility" over fake news.

Facebook welcomed the digital select committee's report and said it would be open to "meaningful regulation".

The Parliamentary report called for:
- a compulsory code of ethics for tech companies, overseen by an independent regulator
- the regulator to be given powers to launch legal action if companies breach the code
- the government to reform current electoral laws and rules on overseas involvement in UK elections
social media companies to be forced to take down known sources of harmful content, including proven sources of disinformation
- tech companies operating in the UK to be taxed to help fund the work for the Information Commissioner's Office and any new regulator set up to oversee them.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47255380