U.S. Tech Companies Sign up to EU Code of Conduct on Terror
May 31 2016 - 6:49AM
Dow Jones News
By Natalia Drozdiak
BRUSSELS--Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc.
and Microsoft Inc. have agreed with the European Union to remove
from their websites information visible in Europe that incites
hatred or acts of terror to help combat the growing threat of
terrorism on the continent.
In a common code of conduct, the U.S. tech companies vowed that
they would review precise and substantial complaints on user's
behavior within 24 hours of receiving them and cut off access to
the content, if required.
The initiative, which clarifies how the companies abide by
existing EU rules to tackle violent extremism and hate speech,
comes in the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Brussels and
Paris. Some of the alleged Paris attackers communicated using
social media.
"Social media is unfortunately one of the tools that terrorist
groups use to radicalize young people and racists use to spread
violence and hatred," said EU Justice Chief Vera Jourova. "This
agreement is an important step forward to ensure that the Internet
remains a place of free and democratic expression, where European
values and laws are respected."
The companies pledged to take down any illegal information that
was either posted by someone based in a European member state or
that was accessible in any European country, even if posted in
another part of the world.
Under the EU rules, executives at the companies could face at
least one year of jail time if they don't comply.
The companies already endeavor to remove illegal information
when it is reported, but the initiative aims to streamline the
efforts across the industry. In 2015, Twitter took down more than
125,000 accounts related to terrorism, which had primarily ISIS
links.
"We remain committed to letting the tweets flow. However, there
is a clear distinction between freedom of expression and conduct
that incites violence and hate," said Karen White, Twitter's head
of public policy in Europe.
The tech firms also said they would continue to work with the EU
to identify and discredit extremist speech by promoting so-called
"counter-narratives" and supporting educational programs that
encourage critical thinking.
In addition, the tech companies promised to educate users about
the type of conduct that wasn't permitted under their rules and how
to submit complaints.
Global advocacy organization AJC Transatlantic Institute
welcomed the agreement but said that it still wanted to see more
clarity from the tech companies about their take-down
procedures.
"We urge social-media companies to become more transparent about
their internal review process of complaints and the training and
background of those employees making the decisions on removing or
not removing content, " Daniel Schwammenthal, director of the AJC
Transatlantic Institute, said.
Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 31, 2016 06:34 ET (10:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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