In the wake of yesterday’s terrorist attack on London Bridge—one that left at least seven people dead—Facebook has announced its intent to render its platform “hostile” to terrorists.
According to CNN, Simon Milner, Facebook’s director of policy, released a statement on Sunday emphasizing that the company “aggressively” pursues and removes “terrorist content.”
“We want Facebook to be a hostile environment for terrorists,” Milner said.
These remarks follow British Prime Minster Theresa May’s call for a more strictly regulated internet. At present, those with the desire to do harm have a world of information at their disposal, not to mention platforms for private communication.
“We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed,” May declared. “Yet that is precisely what the internet and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide.”
Moreover, May emphasized that democratic governments should participate in cyberspace regulation. “We need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online,” she said.
Many companies, including Facebook, Google, Apple, and Microsoft employ encrypted channels that likely protect communication from the eyes of law enforcement. Milner, however, reassures that Facebook will contact authorities if doing so will thwart an attack.
“If we become aware of an emergency involving imminent harm to someone’s safety, we notify law enforcement,” his statement read.
Twitter’s U.K. head of public policy, Nick Pickles, similarly emphasizes that “terrorist content has no place on Twitter.” (Though it’s worth noting that white supremacist ghoul Richard Spencer has not been permanently banned from the site.)
Saturday’s attack, in which seven were killed and 48 wounded, followed on the heels of the suicide bombing in Manchester that left 22 Ariana Grande concert goers dead. Not even two weeks separate these atrocities.