European Interest

EU Internet Forum discusses operational measures to tackle terrorist content online

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In May 2016, the European Commission and four major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft) announced a Code of Conduct on countering illegal online hate speech.

Today, the European Commission is hosting a senior officials meeting in Brussels, with representatives from EU Member States, Europol and the main technology companies in the context of the EU Internet Forum.

The Forum has been driving action on tackling terrorist content online since 2015. The gathering takes place ahead of a meeting of a group of government leaders and CEOs of technology companies on 15 May in Paris attended by EC President Jean-Claude Juncker and co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Paris.

Participants in the EU Internet Forum will hear from the New Zealand Ambassador to the EU on the events that unfolded in Christchurch, and the experience of the New Zealand authorities in responding to it.

The EU Internet Forum will also address crisis response mechanisms by clarifying the roles and communication channels between law enforcement and the private sector following a terror attack with a significant online component.

For its part, the European Commission, following the announcement made by President Juncker in his 2018 State of the Union Address, has already proposed new rules to take terrorist content off the web within 1 hour.

 

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