French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve asked Internet companies to step up and join the fight against online terrorist propaganda, France Soir reported.
Cazeneuve was speaking in Washington before his trip to San Francisco on Friday to meet with leaders of Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter. The French official wants large internet companies to cooperate against extremism.
“Today, 90 percent of those who commit terrorist acts in the European Union do so after attending radical websites” said the French Minister, as quoted by France Soir.
19 January 2015, 11:30 GMT
Videos that show gruesome acts of murder serve as an online propaganda tool. Moreover, terrorist groups, such as the ISIL, use the Internet to call on others to join jihad and carry out “lone wolf” attacks on home soil by recruiting militants using social media. To combat this, Cazeneuve urged partners from 60 countries to do a better job in fighting extremism online by removing illegal content, The Local reported.
Cazeneuve told the online industry to be careful and not allow the Internet to become a “space of fanatic indoctrination.” The French Minister said the Internet companies should immediately withdraw jihadist propaganda from the Internet, The Local said.
