British PM Urges Internet Companies to Combat Online Incitement of Hatred

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlined a number of anti-terrorism measures during a speech delivered in Parliament on November 14, 2007. In the speech he highlighted the need to "challenge extremist propaganda" on the internet, calling on Internet companies: "[T]o work together to ensure that our best technical expertise is galvanised to counter online incitement to hatred." Many Internet providers argue that they are already doing all they can to block hate-related content, while others assert that it is not the role of providers to police online content. John Gage, Vice-President of Sun Microsystems Inc, described the PM's call as a "censorship proposal" that would be problematic to implement. What is somewhat unusual is for a head of government, as opposed to more junior members of the government or bureaucrats, to be so forceful in stating such a position. While the Home Office plans to discuss the issue with British Internet companies, it is uncertain whether any new laws or regulations will be introduced regarding online content. The Prime Minister noted in his speech that a full national security strategy will be published in the coming weeks and that a new counter-terrorism statute is currently being drafted. It will be interesting to see if either of these initiatives addresses the regulation of online content. For Prime Minister Brown's statement on anti-terrorism, see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7094620.stm For commentary on the speech, see: http://tinyurl.com/yqxgkq Summary by: Michael Migus