EU calls on Internet firms to help fight online terrorist propagandaJanuary 29, 2015 - 19:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The EU on Thursday, Jan 29, called for more help from Internet companies to fight online terrorist propaganda in the face of the terror attacks in France, the Associated Press reports. Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told reporters in Riga that the EU needs to deepen cooperation with the Internet industry "and to strengthen the commitment of social media platforms in order to reduce illegal content online." Already before this month's shooting massacres carried out by Islamic extremists in Paris, EU officials had been reaching out to Google, Facebook, Microsoft and other companies to discuss ways of removing jihadist propaganda from the Internet. "We are now taking this cooperation further by deepening dialogue ... in order to develop concrete, workable solutions," Avramopoulos said. But policing the vast amount of material posted on social media is a major challenge. Google said Wednesday that the sheer volume on its YouTube website, with about 300 hours of video material being uploaded every minute, makes it tough to catch all terror-related content. Groups like Islamic State using online videos as recruitment tools. In a rare speech earlier this month, British domestic spy chief Andrew Parker said the group's skill at using social media means it has been able to spread its message to virtually every home in Britain. Omar Ramadan, head of the Radicalization Awareness Network, a European group tackling extremism, said removing terror-related content from the Internet wasn't enough. "If you're only taking down content and not worrying about the people watching content, they will be searching for content elsewhere," Ramadan told the AP on the sidelines of an EU interior ministers' meeting in Riga. "We should prevent them from searching such content by feeding them counter-narratives, telling them that jihadist propaganda is a lie." Security officials say more than 3,000 Europeans have gone to Syria to join extremists there as foreign fighters, sparking worries they will bring the battle home when they return. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. Aliyev touts “good chances” for normalizing ties with Armenia Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declared that there are “good chances” for normalizing relations with Armenia. Top Armenian, Indian defense officials discuss cooperation The discussions primarily focused on enhancing cooperation in the defence sector between Armenia and India. IDBank unveils three sad stories about fraudsters IDBank has unveiled three scenarios of card fraud that have been happening more and more often in Armenia. |