European Commission drafting new rules on removing terrorist propaganda from social media

The European Commission is drafting new rules designed to rid social media platforms of terrorist content after concluding that a voluntary program wasn't working. It had previously asked tech companies, including Facebook, Twitter and Google, to remove terrorist propaganda within an hour. "With regards to terrorist content, the results have been positive but progress is not sufficient," said a spokesperson for the Commission.

The legislation, which will be proposed later in 2018, is the latest in a series of European efforts to bring tech companies under increased regulation. EU data protection rules that came into effect in May have already changed how tech companies around the world collect and handle personal data. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which is owned by Google, agreed in 2016 to review and remove a majority of hate speech within 24 hours. The category includes racist, violent or illegal posts. The Commission told social media platforms in March to take down terrorist content within an hour of it being flagged, warning that new laws could be written if the companies did not comply. EU officials said they would give tech firms three months to report back. The new draft legislation has not been released but could include penalties such as steep fines. It would have to be approved by lawmakers and EU member countries.