Tech sites including Twitter, YouTube and Facebook will be asked by the UK government this week to hand over more information about extremists posting propaganda online. A number of companies – including Google and Microsoft – will attend a meeting with Downing Street policy chiefs reports the Mail on Sunday, where they will be asked to hand over a range of data including IP addresses, emails and names about individuals posting suspect content online.
This would include not only illegal material (such as bomb-making instructions or direct calls to launch terror attacks) but also inflammatory videos and texts that do not necessarily break the law but that could contribute to the radicalisation of vulnerable British Muslims.
Although these sites currently police their users and remove material that breaks anti-terror laws, they only hand over information to the police if it is specifically requested as part of an ongoing investigation. The government, however, wants this process to become automatic. If Twitter or YouTube removes a propaganda video created by Islamic State (Isis) then they should immediately send information about the user that posted it to the police, Tory advisers will urge.
[Source: independent.co.uk, Monday 20 October 2014]