EU, Major Internet Players Partner To Fight Online Terrorist Content

The EU Internet Forum aims to fight online terrorism and hate content via a public-private approach, the European Commission said in launching the project Thursday. EU governments, the European Parliament, Europol and the EU counterterrorism coordinator are expected to work with major online companies on a joint, voluntary strategy for finding and addressing the material, the EC said. The companies were mostly tight-lipped about what their role might be. European Digital Rights strongly criticized the failure to include civil society groups in the discussion and accused the EU of trying to pressure the Internet industry into solving public policy problems. ISPs were left out.

Discussion at the forum will "focus on how to protect the public from the spread of terrorist material and terrorist exploitation of communications channels to facilitate and direct their activities," said the EC. Talks will include how to make better use of the Internet to challenge terrorist narratives and online hate speech, it said. The Internet industry can play a key role in combating radicalization and incitement to violence, said Justice, Consumer and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourová. But tackling online hate speech is a "delicate exercise" that must clearly define where free speech ends and hate speech begins, she said. The EC will push for faster detection of online terrorism incitement and hate speech, as well as for better procedures for taking such content down, it said.

Ask.fm, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter took part in the launch but said little about what they might do to help achieve the EU's goals. Facebook and Microsoft confirmed participation. Twitter and Google didn't comment. As the project "is in the early stages of discussing industry issues and approaches, we are unable to provide further comment," a spokeswoman for Ireland-based Ask.fm told us. An Ask.fm statement said hate-based or extremist organizations are barred from using the site "to promote their campaigns or plans, celebrate their violent acts, fundraise, or recruit young people. We are committed to partnering with industry peers, government and law enforcement authorities to develop effective solutions to this complex issue."

European Digital Rights branded the initiative "untransparent and dangerous." EDRi has several worries, Executive Director Joe McNamee said, including: (1) The forum is "pretty much identical to several projects that failed in the past." (2) The EC will claim that it's a "facilitator" of the project in an attempt to avoid legal and political responsibility for any outcomes. (3) The EC will ignore the need for a "clear evidence base" for launching such projects and remain unclear about the precise problem it wants Internet companies to solve. (4) The Commission will side-step its legal obligation to ensure that any restrictions on fundamental rights are based on law.

EDRi is also concerned that the EC is ignoring research indicating "ill-conceived censorship is not just useless, but can also be counterproductive in the context of terrorist radicalisation," McNamee emailed. It's also possible that without a moderating voice from civil society, there won't be a balance between the EC's political priority to show that "somebody is doing something" and Internet companies' public relations need to respond to pressure being put on them as a result of being dragged into the process, he said. The organization also worries that legal content will be censored arbitrarily, he added.

ISPs also won't be part of the equation, said an ISP industry ally. That may be because the EC prefers to work with players that can commit to taking certain steps and then deliver in practice on their promises, the person said. The focus is on establishing a framework for efficient cooperation with the Internet industry "to quickly scale up efforts in this policy field," which is why online companies have been brought together with EU bodies, an EC spokesman told us.