New measures taken to tackle extremism online

Google introduces four new measures to tackle online extremism, saying that more immediate action needs to be taken. Better detection and greater counter-radicalisation efforts are included in the four measures, as well as more experts and tougher standards. Google says its engineers have developed technology to prevent re-uploads of known terrorist content, using image-matching techniques, and will expand its work with counter-extremism groups to help identify content that may be being used to radicalise. Kent Walker, a senior vice-president and general counsel at Google, said: “Terrorism is an attack on open societies, and addressing the threat posed by violence and hate is a critical challenge for us all. Google and YouTube are committed to being part of the solution. We are working with government, law enforcement and civil society groups to tackle the problem of violent extremism online. There should be no place for terrorist content on our services. While we and others have worked for years to identify and remove content that violates our policies, the uncomfortable truth is that we, as an industry, must acknowledge that more needs to be done. Now.”