Theresa May will urge world leaders to force tech giants to act on terror as she leads key talks at her first G7 summit
PM to set out series of bold joint actions and ask US, Germany, France, Canada, Japan and Italy to follow
THERESA May will today go global in her fight to stop internet giants spreading hate as she warns the online terror threat is spiralling.
Representing Britain for the first time at the annual G7 summit, the PM will issue the call for world leaders to work together to force fat cat tech giants to act.
ISIS may be being beaten on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria but Mrs May will insist the threat that the twisted movement poses is “evolving rather than disappearing” as it rapidly expands operations to incite jihad in the West on the internet.
Only by taking a collective approach to tech companies like Google, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter can they be forced to behave more responsibly, she will argue.
The Tory leader will insist that while the California-based multi-nationals are now taking some small steps, they are falling woefully short considering the scale of the challenge.
She will also set out a series of bold joint actions that she will ask the US, Germany, France, Canada, Japan and Italy to follow.
If you have unity at the G7 and we're all sending out the same message, that delivers a very powerful effect
They include:
- encouraging tech giants to develop better automated tools to swiftly spot and remove harmful material, such as recruitment horror videos or bomb-making manuals;
- making internet companies report suspect material as well as, controversially, the users who post it to the authorities;
- and drawing up tougher guidelines to spell out clearly what constitutes harmful material so they are no grey areas to exploit.
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And if the tech companies fail to then act, they should be “held to account”, Mrs May will insist – opening up the threat of fines and legal crackdowns to follow.
The PM’s demands will spark fury among the tech giants, who have repeatedly refused to whistleblow on their dodgy users.
It will also heap significant pressure on US President Donald Trump, as the big companies are almost all based in America and make vast sums for the US economy.
A senior government official said last night: "If you have unity at the G7 and we're all sending out the same message, that delivers a very powerful effect.
"This is what the Prime Minister wants to achieve. Let's see how the industry responds."
Mrs May will issue the declaration as she leads key talks on terrorism today at the summer gathering of the world's richest seven countries.
This year’s G7, hosted by Italy, has been dubbed the Rookies' Summit as it’s the first one for four of the seven leaders – Mrs May, Mr Trump, France’s new president Emmanuel Macron, and Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni.
Canada’s leader Justin Trudeau has only been to one before, leaving Germany’s Angela Merkel – at her 12th summit – and Japan’s Shinzō Abe as the only veterans.