Europe passes law to combat online propagation of terrorist content

The terrorist attacks that the European continent has suffered in recent years are still reverberating in many countries. France is one of the member states that has experienced the most virulent of these attacks, the latest less than a week ago, when a police officer was killed near a police station in Paris.

As a result of these attacks, most of which are perpetrated by so-called "lone wolves", the European Union has passed a law to force online messaging platforms to remove "terrorist" messages, photos and videos within a maximum period of one hour, with the aim of preventing the radicalisation of these individuals.

The legislation, drafted by the European Commission in 2018, is considered necessary to combat online content disseminated by terrorists to spread their message, radicalise and recruit followers, and direct terrorist activities.

Following a debate in the European Parliament, the text was adopted at second reading without a vote. The regulation on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online includes an obligation for digital platforms "to remove terrorist content or disable access to terrorist content in all Member States as soon as possible and in any event within one hour of receipt”.

These 'take down orders' must come from the 'competent authority' in each EU country and can be addressed to all member states.

In the words of EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson: "Without online manuals to tell you how, it's harder to make bombs. Without flashy propaganda videos, it's harder to poison the minds of young people. Without streaming attacks online, it’s harder to inspire copycat attacks."

Even so, the text provides for exceptions for content published for educational, journalistic, artistic or research purposes. The law also provides exceptions for smaller or non-commercial operators.

However, detractors, including several NGOs and human rights organisations, argue that the absence of judicial control and the transnational scope of takedown orders threaten freedom of expression and represent a danger to democracy.

In the heat of recent terrorist attacks in the country, France has introduced a draft anti-terrorism and intelligence bill that aims to prevent attacks and includes stricter surveillance of extremist websites.

In a news conference, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the text will strengthen French intelligence services' power to watch people's online activities. Extremists “are using less and less phone lines and more and more internet," he said.

Intelligence services will expand the use of algorithms to track extremists online, a method that has been in trial since 2015 to monitor messaging apps. The new law would also give authorities greater powers to limit the movements of people convicted of terrorism for up to two years after their release from prison.

This new bill is part of the anti-terrorism measures that President Emmanuel Macron has been implementing since the start of his term in 2017, with some 1,900 intelligence posts created and 36 attacks prevented in the last four years.