Dear Ministers,
Representatives of the internet companies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to welcome you all to this third Ministerial EU Internet Forum. We are gathered here again today to reinforce further our work against terrorism on the internet. Because it is the internet that is the real battlefield against 21st century terrorism.
Da'esh may have lost its territorial centre of gravity, Raqqa – but on the internet it is still present. It is a presence which is clandestine and infectious, spreading from bogus social media accounts, from one platform to another, with a message of hate, a nihilist interpretation of Islam and detailed instructions on how to kill innocent citizens.
Most of the recent attacks in Europe and the US were hatched and executed from the inside: the attackers never travelled to Syria or Iraq. But most of them had been influenced, groomed and recruited to terrorism on the internet.
Da'esh was quick to capitalise on the advantages offered by the internet. Now, with the dramatic losses, it is suffering on the ground, its recruitment strategies are focussing almost exclusively on the virtual world.
We see more and more aggressive videos and messages on social media, targeting vulnerable groups and individuals in the West.
Since last year, we witnessed a rise in the volume of content being uploaded by Da'esh supporters based here, in Europe. So, while some of the recent attacks seem to have been carried out by "lone wolves", the viral spread of Da'esh's propaganda online proves that these attackers were anything but alone.
Against this backdrop, I am pleased that our joint political investment in this area since 2015 has now gone global.
Not surprisingly, over the last year, terrorism on the internet has been on the political agenda across Europe and the world: at the European Council, the G7 and the United Nations General Assembly.
This year, we also saw the establishment of the Global Internet Forum on Counter Terrorism, an initiative from industry, with support from the UN, whose first attendance here at the EU Internet Forum I warmly welcome.
What for me is the most satisfying is that the trustful cooperation we established here, is not about talking. It is about acting.
In Year 1, 2015, we established an efficient referral mechanism through Europol. 42,000 pieces of content were referred, and most of it removed.
In Year 2, 2016, the industry announced here its database of hashes, to make removals permanent and irreversible. 40,000 hashes now populate the database. Its impact can grow exponentially as more companies join it.
In Year 3, today, we concretely show in this Forum that we can harness Artificial Intelligence in the fight against terrorism. Facebook reports that it is now at 99% automated removals. Google/Youtube at 98%. Twitter at 95%.
For all this effort, I am thankful to the platforms that are here today, and have joined their forces with ours. This is our preferred way: to work together, with trust, and to continue working in this way to take our cooperation further.
There is a lot of room for improvement, for this cooperation to produce even better results, starting with the reporting from the companies, which must become more regular and more transparent.
The figures you give us are needed to assess and monitor our progress. And it is on the basis of those figures that we will make policy.
Then on the issue of the smaller companies – terrorist groups will always follow the path of least resistance. If the big three platforms are armed to the teeth, but all the smaller players cannot follow the arms race, we have lost the game.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube: I urge you to work with smaller companies and help them set up their own Artificial Intelligence tools to detect terrorist content automatically.
We are always as strong as our weakest links.
I also urge you all, to share key information with Europol and law enforcement. We should not work in silos. Law enforcement is your ally in your efforts against terrorism on your platforms.
I also believe that alongside automation, we can all do better on referrals. Companies need to react faster to referrals from our Member States and Europol. It is feasible to reduce the time it takes to remove content to a few hours.
All these points are essential for further progress. This progress needs to be shown with actions and concrete facts and figures.
You know already very well that the progress we achieve here will feed into the wider debate on tackling illegal content online in the Digital Single Market. I repeat that my preferred approach is: trust, voluntary cooperation, concrete results.
But the Commission will make a decision at the latest by May next year on whether additional measures – including legislation – are required in order to better address the problem of illegal content on the internet.
I am confident that our shared commitment to this cooperation will make that unnecessary.
Ladies and Gentleman, I hope that we can have a frank and fruitful discussion today. I genuinely believe that by working together and by coordinating our actions efficiently, we can make a difference and deliver the necessary impact against terrorism online.