May to demand G7 leaders force internet firms to clamp down on extremist content
Prime Minister believes much more needs to be done by web companies to defeat Isil online
THERESA MAY will today declare the war against Isil is moving “from the battlefield to the internet” as she urges world leaders to bring Facebook and other online companies to book.
The Prime Minister will use talks on counter-terrorism at the G7 summit in Sicily to pile pressure on internet firms to fulfil their “social responsibility” in removing extremist content that is radicalising young Muslims.
She hopes that the world’s most powerful leaders, including President Donald Trump and Chancellor Angela Merkel, will lay down the law to internet companies by telling them they will be “held to account” if they do not do more to remove “harmful” material.
Mrs May believes the Manchester bombing and other recent terrorist attacks are a response to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (Isil) reversal of fortunes in Iraq and Syria, but that the threat is “evolving rather than disappearing” and choking off the supply of extremist material online is vital to defeat them in the UK and elsewhere.
She will tell the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the European Union that they “could be doing more” to defeat Isil – also known as Daesh – online.
In particular, she believes social media and internet firms should be forced to notify law enforcement agencies about material they have taken down, and hand over the identities of those who put it online – something Facebook and others refuse to do.
Mrs May also wants to see more resources going into developing technology that can automatically identify and delete extremist material, such as sermons by hate preachers, bomb-making manuals and anything that glorifies terrorism. The Prime Minister will lead a session on counterterrorism at the G7, as a result of which she hopes her message to internet firms will be heard “loud and clear”, according to government sources. A senior Government official said last night: “The Prime Minister’s message is that the threat we face is evolving rather than disappearing. As Daesh loses ground in Iraq and Syria the fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet.
“She wants the G7 nations to move towards a common approach focused on the need to defeat Daesh online.
“The industry has a social responsibility to do more to remove harmful content from its networks, and she thinks the G7 countries could be doing more.”
The police and security services are still working to establish exactly how Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was radicalised, but his father, a member of the proscribed Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, had posted material supportive of extremist groups on his Facebook page.
Material on how to make bombs, and other advice useful to would-be terrorists, remains widely available online.
Mrs May believes that if the internet is cleansed of extremist material, fewer people will be radicalised and the threat from Isil will decline.
She is considering passing new legislation to enable the courts to fine companies like Facebook if they do not take down extremist material, but has urged them to take responsibility for what appears on their own websites.
She hopes the G7 leaders will help promote an international, industry-led forum to share technology that can block extremist material at source.
The Government source said: “Some internet companies are taking steps, but they are not doing enough given the scale of extremist content still online.”
The biggest obstacle, however, could be President Trump, who has so far refused to take steps against Us-based companies such as Facebook and Twitter to force them to police their websites.