No fines for sites over extremist material

GOOGLE, Facebook and other internet giants will escape the threat of multi-million pound fines for allowing extremist content on their sites.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd backed away from the idea yesterday, saying she was ‘not convinced’ imposing fines was the best way to prevent extremists putting videos and documents online.

Reports last month had suggested ministers were drawing up plans to impose swingeing fines on web firms that failed to stop terrorist, hate crime and other poisonous material appearing.

But yesterday Miss Rudd told Pienaar’s Politics on BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘I’m not convinced that [fines] is the way to get the outcome that we want, which is for these companies to turn their expertise and resources to making sure this hate material isn’t on their websites.

‘They showed a lot of goodwill about wanting to do it. I’m putting pressure on them to use their brilliant expertise to make sure this material doesn’t go up in the first place.’

Labour’s Anna Turley said: ‘Asking these companies nicely hasn’t worked so far. Fines will finally make them take this seriously.’