Nowadays, the increasing availability and spreading of terrorist material and content that incites violence and hatred online is a serious threat to the security and safety of EU citizens. Recently the European Commission got involved in the topic.
The European Commission wants Internet platforms like Facebook and Twitter to be more active in search of illegal material such as messages calling for terror. The Commission has recently proposed a new document on the approach of illegal material on the internet. The document lays down a set of guidelines and principles for online platforms to step up the fight against illegal content online. It aims to facilitate and intensify the implementation of good practices for preventing, detecting, removing and disabling access to illegal content so as to ensure the effective removal of illegal content, increased transparency and the protection of fundamental rights online.
Online platforms should work well with national authorities to remove material quickly after a notification, the Commission proposes. They must also collaborate with other trusted organizations that collect and transmit reports of illegal material. In its directives, which are not legally binding, the European Commission does not yet speak of strict time limits for the removal of material. But the intention is already there. Further research is being done there.
Facebook, Google, Twitter and Microsoft already signed a voluntary code of conduct in which they promise to remove illegal material as much as possible within twenty-four hours. Some EU leaders want it to go even faster. Tech companies are encouraged by the Commission to invest in systems that can automatically detect and remove illegal content. Twitter recently said that is has already used such a system to remove hundreds of thousands of tweets. YouTube uses a similar system, named Content ID, to detect copyright violations.
In conclusion, there is a trend for online companies and platforms to become more active in the search of offensive content. Companies are increasingly taking more responsibility for the content placed on their website. Since the European Commission has emphasized that these messages need to be removed, it is a matter of time before screening messages is the most common thing in the world.
Reference:
European Commission (2017), Security Union: Commission steps up efforts to tackle illegal content online, 28 september 2017, from http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-3493_en.htm
