Online terrorist content law wins EU lawmakers’ backing amid rights concerns

A proposed EU law that forces Google, Facebook and Twitter to remove terrorist content within an hour of publication cleared its final hurdle after EU lawmakers gave their backing despite concerns from civil rights groups.

The European Commission had proposed the law in 2018, worried about the role of such content after a series of attacks by radicalised lone-wolf attackers in several European cities.

The EU executive defines online terrorist content as material inciting terrorism or aimed at recruiting or training terrorists as well as material that provides guidance on how to make and use explosives and firearms for terrorist purposes.

The European Parliament approved the law late on Wednesday.

Lawmaker Patryk Jaki said the legislation “balances security and freedom of speech and expression on the internet, protects legal content and access to information for every citizen in the EU, while fighting terrorism through cooperation and trust between states”.

The companies can face fines up to 4% of their global turnover for non-compliance. They have said they shared regulators’ efforts to tackle the issue and keep the content off their platforms.