(AFP) The European Union on Wednesday proposed steps to force social networks and websites to remove terrorist propaganda within an hour of receiving the order from authorities, or companies like Facebook and Twitter could face massive fines.
The legislation proposed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker marks a toughening approach after Brussels had relied on internet firms to voluntarily remove such content.
The internet has become a major tool for extremists carrying out attacks that have killed hundreds of people in European cities in recent years.
“Europeans rightly expect their Union to keep them safe,” Juncker told the European Parliament in his annual state of the union speech.
