Europol takes action against online bomb manuals

A large-scale Referral Action Day targeting terrorist content online took place at Europol’s headquarters on 1 February, which saw the involvement of specialised counter terrorism units from France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

The activity, undertaken by the European Union Internet Referral Unit, targeted online content on explosive chemical precursors which was being shared among terrorist supporting networks, including jihadist, right-wing and left-wing terrorist networks.

The action day resulted in 563 pieces of content on 106 websites and platforms being assessed for referral to online service providers for their voluntary consideration against their terms and conditions. The content included manuals and tutorials which gave instructions, among other things, on how to make bombs with the use of precursors and how to prepare and carry out terrorist attacks.