Massive fines for web giants that don’t take down extreme terror material
Internet firms could face multi-million-pound fines if they fail to take down extremist material under plans to be announced today.
Theresa May and French president Emmanuel Macron will unveil joint proposals to get tough with firms such as Facebook, Google and Twitter in the wake of a string of terror attacks in the UK and France.
Last night the Prime Minister said firms had a ‘social responsibility’ to take down the ‘poisonous propaganda that is warping young minds’.
The two leaders are said to be tired of the foot-dragging by technology giants and plan to make them legally liable for extremist material on their sites if they fail to take it down swiftly.
The proposal of ‘legal liability’ for firms would leave them open to hefty fines and is designed to pressure them into finally taking the issue seriously.
Downing Street last night declined to comment on the potential size of the fines. But Germany is already introducing fines of up to £45million for firms that fail to take down extremist material within 24 hours.
Speaking ahead of the announcement, to be made at a joint press conference in Paris tonight, Mrs May said she and Mr Macron agreed that ‘more should be done to tackle the terrorist threat online’. She added: ‘The UK and France will work together to encourage corporations to do more and abide by their social responsibility to step up their efforts to remove harmful content from their networks, including exploring the possibility of creating a new legal liability for tech companies if they fail to remove unacceptable content.
‘We are united in our total condemnation of terrorism and our commitment to stamp out this evil.’ Home Secretary Amber Rudd and French interior minister Gerard Collomb will hold further talks on implementing the proposals in the coming days.
Today’s announcement marks an attempt by Mrs May to show she is ‘getting on with business’ in the wake of last week’s disastrous election result. A new drive on countering terrorism and extremism is likely to form part of her Queen’s Speech.
The initiative also underlines growing international frustration with the sluggish response of social media firms, who are reluctant to take responsibility for the sickening material they carry on their sites. Ministers are furious at the widespread availability of hate-filled propaganda online, and the ease with which impressionable youngsters can access detailed terror manuals.
Google, Facebook and Twitter all claim they want to remove such material from their websites, but it remains alarmingly easy to find.
In the wake of the Manchester bomb attack, it took the Daily Mail less than 30 seconds to find links to handbooks imploring extremists to murder children and target concerts, and providing instructions for constructing home-made bombs.
Facebook and Google, which owns the video site YouTube, removed material when it was raised with them, but fresh links were quickly re-posted by extremists. The Prime Minister discussed the dangers posed by extremist material at last month’s G7 summit in Sicily, where she brokered an agreement between world leaders to embark on an international approach to clamping down on social media firms.
Downing Street said the AngloFrench initiative would see the two countries working with technology firms to ‘develop tools to identify and remove harmful material automatically’. They will discuss the proposals over a working dinner at the Elysee Palace before travelling to the Stade de France to watch England play France.