Silicon Valley tech giants have been put on the spot after the attacks at London Bridge, which claimed seven lives and scores of injuries on hundreds of pedestrians. Facebook, Google, and Twitter were among the tech companies put under pressure to tackle extremist content. According to the UK Prime Minister Theresa May, these companies have been making it easy for terrorists by providing the safe space they need to plan their terrorist attacks.
In what many see as a power grab, speaking outside Downing Street Mrs. May emphasized the need for governments to work together to regulate cyberspace. She said that this was the only way to prevent the spread of terrorism planning. May further highlighted, “We need to work with allied democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate… we need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online.”
The tech giant’s response to May’s accusations of providing a safe space for terrorism
In her strongly worded speech May indicated the need for changing the way the UK tackles terrorism. In response to her accusations of having provided terrorists with a safe haven each of the tech firms cited its commitment to combating the misuse of online platforms. Facebook claimed that it has been working aggressively and even notifying law enforcers of any emergencies regarding an impending harm.
Twitter, on the other hand, talked of having suspended close to 400,000 accounts, which were related to promotion of terrorism. A spokesperson from Google outlined the company’s working relationship with industry colleagues, which is expected to strengthen the fight against abuse of platforms.
A push for international co-operation on online extremism
May, will not just stop at tech firms. Last month, the prime minister rallied an international co-operation on online extremism at the G7 summit. She insisted on the need for companies to develop tools, which will help in identifying and removing of materials deemed harmful. Nonetheless, it is not clear how soon this geopolitical push will be implemented because the G7 nations did not ink any specific policy on the same.
Meanwhile, Facebook’s stock closed at $153.63 witnessing an increase of $0.02 or 0.01% while that of Twitter was trading at $18.23 a fall of $0.08 or 0.44%. Alphabet’s stock closed $1,003.88 witnessing an increase of $7.76 or 0.78%.
