The European Parliament has signed off on rules which stipulate that online platforms must act to remove terrorist content within an hour of European Union (EU) member states making a request for them to do so.

Member states will decide on the penalty, which could be up to four percent of the global annual turnover of the company that owns the platform. The punishment will take into account "the nature of the breach and the size of [the] company responsible," the European Parliament said.

How the Rules Play Out

According to a press release announcing the news:

The new regulation will target content such as texts, images, sound recordings or videos, including live transmissions, that incite, solicit or contribute to terrorist offences, provide instructions for such offences or solicit people to participate in a terrorist group. In line with the definitions of offences included in the Directive on combating terrorism, it will also cover material that provides guidance on how to make and use explosives, firearms and other weapons for terrorist purposes.

Under the rules, internet platforms aren't legally obligated to monitor or filter content. However, when advised by "competent national authorities" they must act quickly. They are also not required to use automated tools for this, which means that they do not have to develop special algorithms specifically for the job. Companies must publish an annual transparency to show what action they have taken to abide by these rules.

"Terrorists recruit, share propaganda and coordinate attacks on the internet," Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Patryk Jaki said in a statement. "Today we have established effective mechanisms allowing member states to remove terrorist content within a maximum of one hour all around the European Union. I strongly believe that what we achieved is a good outcome, which balances security and freedom of speech and expression on the internet, protects legal content and access to information for every citizen in the EU, while fighting terrorism through cooperation and trust between states."

Grappling With Dangerous Content

The question of how best to grapple with troublesome online content---whether related to terrorism or potentially harmful fake news and conspiracy theories---is one that virtually every tech giant has had to grapple with in recent times. There are no clear-cut answers. Nonetheless, proactive steps like the one taken by the EU shows just how seriously this is being taken by authorities all around the world.

The new regulation will come into effect on the twentieth day after publication of the rules in the Official Journal. The rules will officially start applying 12 months later.

Image Credit: Christian Lue/Unsplash CC