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UK ‘biggest audience’ in Europe for extremist web content

Britain is the fifth-biggest audience in the world for jihadist web content after Turkey, the US, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, a report has found. Police Exchange found that online jihadist propaganda attracts more clicks in the UK than any other country in Europe. It suggested the UK public would support new laws criminalising reading content that glorifies terror. The government has told internet companies like Facebook and Google to do more to remove jihadist material. Under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000, it is currently an offence to possess information that could assist a would-be terrorist, but not material which glorifies terrorism. Policy Exchange surveyed 2,001 adults in the UK, finding 74 per cent of people supported new laws to criminalise the consumption of extremist material online. Its report found IS produces more than 100 new articles, videos and newspapers a week, saying any decline of the terror group in the online space had been ‘significantly overstated’. The report suggested the UK government introduce a ‘sliding scale’ of measures to bear down on internet companies - including giving the proposed new commission for countering extremism powers to oversee the removal of online content. Internet giants say they have made efforts to clamp down on extremist content, with Facebook saying it was working ‘aggressively to remove terrorist content’ from its website and Twitter saying that terrorist content had no place on its platform. Amber Rudd, Home Secretary, said: “We know that Daesh pose a threat online and this report helps to highlight the scale of the issue. "I have made it crystal clear to internet bosses that they need to go further and faster to remove terrorist content from their websites and prevent it being uploaded in the first place. “The internet cannot be used as a safe space for terrorists and criminals, and industry need to ensure that the services they provide are not being exploited by those who wish to do us harm.” Martin Frampton, Policy Exchange’s co-head of security and extremism, said: “If the internet companies won't do what their customers want and take more responsibility for removing this content, then government must take action through additional regulation and legislation.”

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