• Deputy director Mike Ankers says X now needs 12-18 months to hand over user data, far beyond the six-month limit for most abuse cases.
• Successful court cases linked to X have plunged in the past year, while TikTok, Snapchat and Meta reply within weeks.
• The FA backs a new joint plan with police and regulator Ofcom to speed up action against online hate.

Football hate-crime investigators in Britain have lost faith in Elon Musk’s social network, claiming its long-winded legal route is wrecking prosecutions.

Mike Ankers, deputy head of the UK Football Policing Unit, told MPs that obtaining account details from X now takes “about 12 to 18 months,” double the six-month window police usually have to charge online abusers.

“They never say no, but they hide behind a US court process,” Ankers told the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Football. “By the time the papers come back, the case is dead.”

He revealed that convictions tied to X have fallen sharply in 2025, while rivals like TikTok and Snapchat hand over details in under a month. Last month Ankers secured a guilty verdict against a man who targeted England defender Jess Carter on TikTok during the Euros, highlighting the contrast.

X insists it obeys the law. Anna Zizola, the firm’s EU policy lead, told MPs the site removed 1.8 million posts for abuse in the first half of the year. “We don’t want hate on our platform,” she said.

Experts at the hearing urged football chiefs to speak with one voice. Analyst Jodie Luker said the FA should lead a single, game-wide policy instead of letting each league and club act alone.

An FA spokesperson said the new partnership with the UKFPU and media watchdog Ofcom will “speed up the fight against online abuse” and push tech firms for faster co-operation.