Web Firms Told To Do More To Tackle Terror

The UK Government has once again attacked internet companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google for failing to do more to tackle terrorist activity on their platforms.

In its response, published today, to the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee's (ISC) report into the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby , the Government said that "internet companies… have a social responsibility to ensure their networks do not put the communications of terrorists beyond the reach of the authorities" and that it had asked them to report back on "new steps" they might take.

The Government pointed to one "very serious finding" in the ISC report - an online exchange in which Michael Adebowale expressed his desire and intent to kill a soldier. This was later revealed to have taken place on Facebook .

Although Adebowale had several other accounts suspended automatically for terrorist content, this particular exchange - which could have been "decisive", according to the ISC - did not trigger Facebook's monitoring system.

The Government said that Facebook had since "agreed to rapidly improve the identification of imminent threats and to reporting them to law enforcement". It said it was pressing other internet companies to do the same.

When the original ISC report was published in November 2014, Facebook said: "We don't comment on individual cases but Facebook's policies are clear: we do not allow terrorist content on the site and take steps to prevent people from using our service for these purposes."

Although several different failings in the security services were identified by the ISC report, the Government's response focuses on the "largest US technology companies that dominate the web".

It said: "It is clear that terrorists are using the internet to communicate with each other."

"The fact that a suspect is using a foreign, internet-based communications service as opposed to a UK-based equivalent should make no difference to our ability to access that suspect's communications, if that company supplies a service to the UK."

Insiders at tech companies have also been frustrated by what they see as the Government's "blame game".

They point out that they already work with the Government extensively and that the problem is a legal, rather than technological, one. As US-based companies, tech companies are subject to US laws.

The Government's response acknowledged that more needed to be done in this area.

"Where there are domestic legal provisions that hinder compliance, we are working with the governments of the countries in which those companies are domiciled to look at ways in which their legal frameworks can be utilised to allow for lawful data exchange with the UK authorities to take place," it said.