By Sam Schechner.
LILLE--France and Germany on Tuesday demanded that U.S. tech
companies help them police terrorism on the Internet.
Top law-enforcement officials from the two countries said that
they expect U.S. Internet and social networking companies like
Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. to pre-emptively remove
terror content from their services--or they should expect new laws
forcing them to do so.
"Just because the vast majority of this content is found on
American services doesn't reduce their impact on French people,"
said Bernard Cazeneuve, France's interior minister, at a
cybersecurity conference.
"We won't succeed in our fight against terrorism unless Internet
actors start taking responsibility."
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere echoed that call,
commentingh at the same conference that he had to personally ask
social media companies to remove "terrible" images from the
Internet following the Paris attacks.
"We shouldn't have to wait for a minister to intervene before
operators remove this content on their own," Mr. de Maizière said,
adding: "The less people take responsibility, the more legislators
will be forced to take the initiative."
Facebook and Twitter declined to comment. A spokesman for Google
didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Franco-German push for greater cooperation from U.S. tech
firms comes as governments seek assistance in both obtaining
intelligence on alleged terrorists, and limiting the spread of
terrorism messages on social networks.
Representatives from technology companies met last year with EU
ministers in Luxembourg and U.K. officials in London. France plans
to propose a new surveillance law to allow greater leeway in
demanding data on targets from U.S. firms, after already enacting
two others in the last year--including one that gives the
government the ability to block websites with terrorist
content.
France says the menace of online calls for terrorism--used both
to intimidate and recruit--have grown significantly. Mr. Cazeneuve
said Tuesday that a French Internet-monitoring system dubbed
"Pharos" flagged more than 25,000 pieces of illicit content
expressing support for terrorism following this month's
attacks.
"It's a major issue," Mr. Cazeneuve said.
The push has unnerved both civil liberties advocates and tech
firms, particularly after this month's bloody attack on French
satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo became a rallying point to support
freedom of expression.
"Recent legislative additions--some not yet in effect--give
France one of the biggest legal arsenals in the world" said ASIC,
an association of tech firms that operate in France, including
Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. "Any new law or measure should
respect all freedoms, both public and personal."
"The government answers an attack on civil rights with another
restriction of freedom of expression and the rule of law,"
free-speech group La Quadrature du Net said in a statement last
week. "What a bad tribute to pay to those who gave their lives for
freedom of speech."
Some French magistrates involved in antiterrorism investigations
also say rushing to close down websites with terrorism content
could be counterproductive, because tracking down people who
connect to those sites can help authorities home in on
suspects.
French authorities say the measures they are taking respect
personal rights-but that freedom must be balanced with security and
responsibility.
"If we fight terrorism by giving ourselves tools and powers that
restrict public liberty, we give the first victory to terrorists,"
Mr. Cazeneuve said.
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