The European Commission can fine large internet companies such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube if they do not identify and eliminate terrorist propaganda and extremist messages from their platforms, writes the Financial Times.
The edition quoted EU Security Commissioner Julian King that technology companies do not make enough efforts for the censorship of of terrorist content, which requires the Community to take action to protect its citizens.
“We cannot afford to relax or sign a ceasefire with this destructive phenomenon,” says Julian King.
There are still no additional details about the new regulations that are being prepared in Brussels, but according to an anonymous source close to the legislative body, a maximum period of one hour will likely be imposed during which social platforms will have to delete content marked as terrorist by the security services in a country.
This would also be the first time that the European Commission will directly oblige Internet companies to remove violent messages, photos and clips. So far, the EU relied on the mutual understanding in the dialogue with the technological giants, as they themselves maintain the thesis that they are not responsible for content that is being uploaded to the network by their users.
Julian King states that the new legislation will come into force only once it has been approved by the European Parliament and the EU Member States. If the amendments are adopted, they will become mandatory for all sites and social networks operating within the Community, regardless of their size.
In the summer of 2017 Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Microsoft have announced the creation of a global working group which will focus on removing terrorist content from their platforms. Later in some European countries, such as Germany, laws have been adopted, which foresee a fine of up to €50 million for social networks that do not rapidly remove messages containing hatred or incitement to extremist actions.
