After a series of terror attacks earlier this year in Austria and France, the
European Union, its member states, and the United Kingdom are taking new


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Tech & Terrorism: Europe Takes Action To Combat Online Extremism

(New York, N.Y.) – After a series of terror attacks earlier this year in
Austria and France, the European Union, its member states, and the United
Kingdom are taking new steps to reduce online extremism and stem the
dissemination of terrorist propaganda.

 

In Austria, where a gunman
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in Vienna killed four people and wounded more than 20 others in November, the
National Councilpassed a package of legislation
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combat “hate on the net,” including measures that will require online platforms
to immediately remove illegal and extremist content from their site, allow for
the government to issue injunctions more quickly, and ease the process by which
online offenders are investigated.

 

In France, where attacks in Nice, Paris, and Conflans-Sainte-Honorine have
rattled the nation since September, the governmentintroduced draft legislation
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that would tighten restrictions on online hate speech and make it illegal to
share or maliciously reveal personal details about other people online. To
further strengthen these measures, the French government is alsoreportedly
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considering amendments that would “impose cooperation rules” on tech companies
in order to help identify users who post and share hate speech, as well
obligate platforms to be more transparent about their processes for moderating
content.

 

In the United Kingdom, the government reportedly
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introduce the “Online Harms Bill
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hold social media platforms accountable for monitoring for removing extremist
content and fine those sites that do not comply.

 

Lastly, EU lawmakers reached
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a tentative agreement last week that would entitle authorities in all 27
member states to remove terrorist content online or to disable access to it
within one hour. The provisional deal would apply to all online providers
offering services in the EU, irrespective of the location of their
headquarters. The EU is alsoreportedly
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new measures under the Digital Services Act (DSA) that would require “very
large” tech companies like Facebook to takegreater responsibility
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policing the Internet, or face fines of up to six percent of total turnover, or
revenue, from the previous fiscal year.

 

Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Executive Director David Ibsen previously
spoke in support
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of such measures. He stated, “Online radicalization is one of the most
insidious threats facing European citizens as extremists exploit social media
to spread their propaganda easily and quickly, explicitly targeting those most
vulnerable to their messaging … More concrete action against online terrorist
content must continue to materialize across the European Union. Only through
sustained determination and coordination through the Member States can online
extremism be fought and ultimately eradicated.”

 

Responding to critics of content moderation laws, Ibsen has further said
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that, “While freedom of expression must be respected, removing harmful content
is vital in the fight against hate speech and online terror. Those who argue
that such regulations are a vessel of censorship are allowing the constant
propagation of hate, disinformation and radicalisation online. The internet
should not be a lawless space and private companies should not dictate the
rules. Hate speech and terrorist content should, and will not, be tolerated
online. This is a once-in-a-generation chance to stand up against online
extremism.”

 

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