Online free speech advocates were up in arms Sunday after British Prime Minister Theresa May called for allied governments to "regulate cyberspace" in the wake of the terror attack in London on Saturday night.
May suggested more must be done to prevent homegrown extremism sparked by conversations on the internet, in hopes of cracking down on Islamic State-inspired terrorism.
"We cannot allows this ideology the safe space it needs to breed, yet that is precisely what the internet and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide," she said at a news conference. "We need to work with allied democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremist and terrorist planning."
Britain has seen a surge in terrorist activity recently, with three attacks in the last three months. Twenty-two people died in a suicide bombing after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on May 23, in an attack allegedly carried out by a 22-year-old Brit. Prior to that, a 52-year-old died after killing four people in a vehicle and knife attack on Westminster Bridge in March.
Both suspected attackers were born in Britain and had reportedly travelled to the Middle East before launching their respective attacks.
Social media giants Google and Twitter said they are committed to cracking down on terror-related content in separate statements on Sunday.
"We continue to expand the use of technology as part of a systematic approach to removing this type of content,” said Nick Pickles, Twitter’s U.K. head of public policy.
Google said, "We are committed to working in partnership with the government and NGOs to tackle these challenging and complex problems, and share the government's commitment to ensuring terrorists do not have a voice online."
With this most recent London attack coming in the middle of an election race, May and her primary opponents agreed to pause their campaigning for the day. However, some critics suggested May was breaking that agreement by pushing internet regulation. Such measures are a key element of her election platform.
-With files from The Associated Press
Theresa May: 'Campaigning will be suspended after I've finished this campaign speech about how it's the internet's fault'
— Jason Spacey (@Jason_Spacey) June 4, 2017
Way too much emphasis in Theresa May's speech at blaming the internet. That's like saying she's going to crackdown on white van drivers.
— Jono Read (@jonoread) June 4, 2017
So @theresa_may effectively blames Internet companies for the #londonattacks—I cannot see that any amount of clampdown will make us safer
— Jim Killock (@jimkillock) June 4, 2017
Good old Theresa May. Using a terror attack to sell her manifesto of monitoring the Internet and 'cyber' space. Disgusting.
— Amanda (@justamoocat) June 4, 2017
Theresa May is itching to use terrorism as an excuse to bring in censorship of the internet, the one medium the Tories don't yet control.
— Ivan White (@ivanwhite48) June 4, 2017
@theresa_may The internet didn't kill people last night. Followers of a toxic ideology killed people with trucks and knives.
— Hank 0331 (@hank_0331) June 4, 2017
North Korea, Iran, China and Saudi Arabia are among the more prominent countries that currently regulate internet content.
With files from the Associated Press
