Facebook, Google face widening crackdown over online content

London: Tech giants like Facebook and Google came under increasing pressure in Europe on Monday when countries proposed stricter rules to force them to block extreme material such as terrorist propaganda and child porn. The British plan would require social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to protect people who use their sites from "harmful content." "Instead, we call for a more pragmatic approach with removals happening 'as soon as possible,' to protect citizens' rights and competitiveness," said EDIMA, a European trade group for new media and internet companies. Opponents said the measure also places a bigger burden on smaller internet companies than on giants like Facebook and Google, which already have automated content filters. "It needs machine learning tools to manage the 21st-century problems of the internet," Wright said Britain's proposed social-media regulator would be expected to take freedom of speech into account while trying to prevent harm.