【eroticism and art】

After denouncing end-to-end encryption,eroticism and art trying to control the online porn you watch and drafting one of the most invasive surveillance laws ever passed in a democracy, the UK prime minister is after big internet companies.

SEE ALSO: Activists say ethnic cleansing in Myanmar is being erased from Facebook

Along with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Theresa May will meet representatives from Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and Google in New York at the UN General Assembly -- and rest assured, she'll be pretty tough in her message.

While welcoming these companies' efforts to try and stop the spread of terrorist content, May will urge them to do more, much more.

In detail, she wants Facebook & co. to "develop new technological solutions to prevent such content being uploaded in the first place."

Where that is not possible, May wants them to take down terrorist content within two hours.

"Terrorist groups are aware that links to their propaganda are being removed more quickly, and are placing a greater emphasis on disseminating content at speed in order to stay ahead," she will say, in reference to material spread by Islamic State (ISIS) and other terrorist groups that contain detailed information on how to create a bomb or ram down people with cars or vans.

"Industry needs to go further and faster in automating the detection and removal of terrorist content online, and developing technological solutions which prevent it being uploaded in the first place."

Just yesterday, Twitter said it suspended 299,649 accounts between 1 January and 30 June -- six months -- of this year, and 75% of them were removed before their first tweet.

But that's not enough, according to May.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

"We need a fundamental shift in the scale and nature of our response – both from industry and governments – if we are to match the evolving nature of terrorists’ use of the internet," she said ahead of the event.

"I call on others to join the UK, France, and Italy in pledging their support for this approach."

Tech companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube agreed in June to establish a Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT).

A spokesperson from the forum sent a statement to Mashableabout May's words:

“Combatting terrorism requires responses from government, civil society and the private sector, often working collaboratively.

The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism was founded to help do just this and we've made strides in the past year through initiatives like the Shared Industry Hash Database.

We'll continue our efforts in the years to come, focusing on new technologies, in-depth research, and best practices. Together, we are committed to doing everything in our power to ensure that our platforms are not used to distribute terrorist content.”

But not everyone agrees with the prime minister's tough course of action.

Jim Killock, executive director of Open Rights Group, an advocacy organisation in the UK, warned about the risks of internet companies relying too much on automated takedowns.

“Internet companies have a role to play in removing illegal content from their platforms but we need to recognise the limitations of relying on automated takedowns. Mistakes will inevitably be made – by removing the wrong content and by missing extremist material," he said in a statement.

“Given the global reach of these companies, automated takedowns will have a wide-reaching effect on the content we see, although not necessarily on the spread of extremist ideas as terrorists will switch to using other platforms.”

“There needs to be transparency about where takedown requests come from and what is being taken down automatically; there also need to be clear routes for appeal when mistakes are made.”

A recent example of this is Facebook deleting posts from Rohingya activists who document the human rights violations, persecutions and ethnic cleansing of their community in the country.

"This move by the British, French, and Italian Governments could also be used to justify the actions of authoritarian regimes, such as China, Saudi Arabia and Iran, who want companies to remove content that they find disagreeable," Killock said.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Add this video to the list of why you should never propose over a body of water

---

Topics Facebook Google Porn X/Twitter YouTube