Tackling Terrorist Content Online in Europe

The EU’s Terrorist Content Online Regulation came into effect in June 2022, and included a requirement for media platforms and host service providers (HSPs) to take down terrorist content within an hour of receiving a removal order from a ‘competent authority’; but a new report suggests that a lack of technical expertise and awareness leaves many smaller HSPs struggling to comply with the Regulation, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explains.

Despite new legal provisions and the best effort of law enforcement agencies, the online terror threat persists, with increasingly sophisticated propaganda campaigns recruiting and radicalising teenagers to terrorist causes; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth spoke to international expert Laurence Bindner, co-founder of the JOS Project, about the challenges of tackling online terrorism and the current threat landscape.

Terrorist organisations are turning to small hosting service providers (HSPs) with less capacity and capability to prevent the spread of extremism on their platforms. Policing Insight's Andrew Staniforth reports on Tech Against Terrorism Europe an initiative specifically designed to help HSPs remove terrorist content quickly.

The report from the European Commission into the implementation of the Terrorist Content Online (TCO) Regulation has found that EU member states are making good use of the tool, with around 350 orders issued by authorities to service providers to remove online terrorist content but more must be done to enforce the provisions and support host service providers comply with the regulations.