Prime Minister joins Summit on online terror

Homeland May 16, 2019

The Prime Minister Theresa May joined world leaders and internet companies for a Summit on tackling terrorist use of the internet.

The Online Extremism Summit was prompted by the Christchurch mosque attacks in March, which killed 51 people and was live-streamed on Facebook.

The Summit will focus international efforts to stop social media being used to organise and promote terrorism, with attendees expected to sign up to a joint pledge, called the “Christchurch Call To Action”, to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

In her intervention at the Summit the Prime Minister raised concerns about the growing threat posed by the Far Right, and call for greater progress to develop technical solutions and better collaboration between online platforms.

She will also call for countries to take forward a shared, international approach to regulation, and follow the lead set by the UK’s pioneering Online Harms White Paper, which would create a legal duty of care on internet companies for the first time.

On the need for international action the Prime Minister, said: “I want the internet to be a safe place for all our citizens. That’s why we announced plans for new legislation in the UK – creating a legal duty of care on internet companies to keep users safe from harm. This will be backed up an independent regulator with the power to enforce its decisions.

“We are the first country to put forward such a comprehensive approach, but it isn’t enough for us to act alone. The internet is global and online threats have no borders. Companies should be held to consistent international standards, so their customers enjoy the same level of protection wherever they live.”

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Online Extremism Summit online terror Theresa May