May urges tech firms to lead online extremism fight

During her time with G7 leaders in Sicily, Prime Minister Theresa May will stress the importance of technology firms in suppressing extremist content online. May will tell the summit, which will include U.S President Donald Trump and new French President Emmanuel Macron, that every nation has a responsibility in encouraging big technology companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter to block users who post extremist content and report individuals to authorities if there is evidence of imminent harm. Following the recent terrorist attack in Manchester, May is to urge social media companies to develop tools that could automatically identify and remove harmful material based on what it contains and who posted it, and also impose a law that technology companies must revise conditions and industry guidelines to make them absolutely clear about what constitutes harmful material and tell the authorities when harmful material is identified so that action can be taken.