Britain, France And Italy Will Pressure Internet Companies To Tackle ‘Terrorist Content’ Faster

Britain wants Internet firms to remove extremist content from their sites and services in a speedier fashion, with the aim to react to such content within two hours of its first appearing.

At the UN, the UK will be joined by France and Italy in raising the issue of “terrorist content” being posted and distributed on websites and through online services, Reuters reported.

Joining the gathering of world leaders will be the likes of Facebook, Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google, who will take part in a meeting aimed at tackling the propagation of extremism through the Internet.

“Terrorist groups are aware that links to their propaganda are being removed more quickly, and are placing a greater emphasis on disseminating content at speed in order to stay ahead,” May plans to tell the event, according to Reuters.

“Industry needs to go further and faster in automating the detection and removal of terrorist content online, and developing technological solutions which prevent it being uploaded in the first place.”

Pressure to remove and censor extremist content on their sites and services has see a variety of technology companies setup the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, formed back in June.

And Twitter has reportedly been removing hundreds of thousands of accounts this year that is said have been responsible for the “promotion of terrorism”.

Nevertheless, the European Union is increasing the pressure it is putting on such online services companies, having threatened to apply legislation in the vein of policing the Internet, should the various firms not do so themselves.

This of course raises the potential to debate issues of freedom of speech and expression, but following the terror attack on London’s Underground on September 15, such arguments might be ignored by Britain’s authorities and security services. After all, government snooping has already become legal in Switzerland.

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