May wins support of G7 to fight social media’s role in extremism
THERESA MAY won a major victory in the war on terror yesterday after G7 leaders agreed to her plans for a crackdown on Facebook being used as a recruitment tool.
The G7 countries promised to “redouble our efforts” to combat social media being used to radicalise young Muslims after the Prime Minister told them the war against Isil was moving “from the battlefield to the internet”.
They also agreed to proposals put forward by Mrs May to make sure British extremists who fight in Syria are arrested by other countries, after it emerged the Manchester bomber stopped in Germany to avoid detection on a trip back from Libya.
Mrs May led talks on counter-terrorism at the G7 summit in Sicily, putting forward a series of measures to pile pressure on Facebook, Twitter and other internet companies to block
‘Mrs May put forward a series of measures to pile pressure on Facebook, Twitter and other companies’
extremist material and report to the authorities the identities of those who post it.
Internet firms have so far refused to pass on evidence to police forces, citing their policies on data protection, but in a statement released last night the G7 said: “We call for Communication Service Providers and social media companies to substantially increase their efforts to address terrorist content.”
The statement agreed to Mrs May’s suggestions that internet firms should develop “tools to improve the automatic detection of content promoting incitement to violence”.
The G7 also agreed to share information and expertise with countries including Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon so that they can “prosecute any foreign fighters they capture”.
At least 800 British extremists have travelled to the Middle East to fight with Isil, and around half of them are thought to have returned, posing a huge terrorist threat on home soil.
Mrs May said Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi’s links to Libya “undoubtedly shine a spotlight on this largely ungoverned space on the edge of Europe”.
The Prime Minister told world leaders including US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that “it is vital we do more to cooperate with our partners in the region to step up returns and prosecutions of foreign fighters.
“This means improving intelligencesharing, evidence gathering and bolstering countries’ police and legal processes,” she said.
Police believe Abedi may have received bomb-making training in Libya before he detonated a device that killed 22 people earlier this week.
Just days before the bombing he flew back from Tripoli via Istanbul, but broke his journey in Dusseldorf in a possible attempt to avoid scrutiny.
Mrs May’s proposals agreed by the G7 are:
♦ Sharing the identities of foreign fighters who may pass through third countries on the way back to their countries of origin;
♦ Sharing expertise on policing, border security and watch-lists with transit countries;
♦ Providing training and resourcing to legal experts and police in Iraq and other countries to help them prose-
cute, extradite or deport foreign fighters
Sharing data on foreign fighters, such as names and nationalities, so they can be spotted as they cross borders.
Encouraging countries to pass on evidence such as videos or documents to the British authorities to help prosecute them if they return to Britain.
The G7 leaders declared they would “pursue a collective approach to managing the risk posed by foreign fighters as they disperse from theatres of conflict”.
They said they would pool resources to develop “legal pathways in order to return foreign fighters to their country of origin” and committed to “greater knowledge-sharing of known individuals”.
The statement also promised to “refocus our efforts and take action to cut off sources and channels of terrorist financing”.