‘Five Eyes’ joins call against online terror propaganda

Britain’s ‘Five Eyes’ partners have joined the Home Secretary in urging communication service providers to take stronger action against online extremist content. Amber Rudd secured support from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US for her campaign against terrorist material at a meeting Ottawa on Tuesday (June 27). Ministers from the five countries signed a letter welcoming an announcement that companies including Facebook and Google will start forming a new global industry body. However, they stressed that progress must be made quickly and that too much potentially radicalising content is still available on the internet. The agreement comes after Ms Rudd met internet providers in March encouraging them to do more to stop the flow of online propaganda. She said: “The issue of terrorism transcends borders and a truly global effort is need to end the spread of hateful propaganda. “The commitment from my fellow Five Eyes members to a shared approach to Communication Service Providers and their backing of the new industry forum is a vital step forward. “In our darkest hours, the international community has stood together. The ties between our countries give us a strong foundation to end the spread of poisonous propaganda used to recruit and radicalise people across the world. “Today’s letter is a statement that our countries will never let terrorists win.”