European Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove called on Wednesday 28 October for MEPs to reach an agreement on the removal of terrorist content online. Inter-institutional discussions on the regulation on the removal of terrorist content online will take place on Thursday.
“The main concern is the Internet. The European Parliament is talking about a regulation to remove illegal content, it's time to find a consensus and settle this issue; all Member States are asking for it”, stressed the coordinator at a hearing on the persistent global threat from Daesh and its subsidiaries, within the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE).
While, according to de Kerchove, the quality and quantity of Daesh's propaganda has declined in comparison to the 2014-2018 period, the terrorist organisation and its affiliates continue to produce a large amount of content calling for attacks against the West. According to researcher Hugo Micheron, in Europe, Salafist content is six times more widespread than articles in the mainstream media.
Mr de Kerchove also expressed the wish that, in the context of the future “Digital Single Act”, it would be possible for the authorities to have access to decrypted content once authorisation has been given by a judge. “We need to put in place a legal responsibility of the platforms for the content they host”, he added.
Beyond the Internet, the coordinator, along with researchers Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Hugo Micheron, looked at the situation of jihadists who have returned to Europe and are currently in prison, some of whom may soon be released. “What to do in a country where the rule of law applies to people who have served their sentences?” asked Mr de Kerchove.
He said that under the German Presidency of the EU Council, Member States are discussing to learn from each other about methods to reduce the number of radicalised people who can be followed by the security services, to prioritise them. According to him, in France, out of more than 20,000 S-files, 8,000 are considered to be of concern and a prioritisation is therefore necessary.
According to Mr Gartenstein-Ross, “we must be careful not to lose track of ghosts. If the necessary monitoring cannot be carried out, contingency plans will have to be put in place”. Both researchers highlighted the problems of radicalisation in prison.
Beyond our borders, Mr de Kerchove expressed concern about the situation of children imprisoned in camps in northern Syria, some of whom are European citizens. According to him, these children, who are with radicalised fighters, sometimes already radicalised themselves, risk being radicalised even more and creating a new generation of jihadists. “The longer they stay in the camps, the more radicalised they will be in the future”, he warned. The decision to repatriate Europeans depends on each Member State. While waiting for a decision from them, de Kerchove said there was a need to improve living conditions in the camps and to organise education. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)