Facebook wants to be ‘a hostile environment for terrorists’

Facebook has vowed to become “a hostile environment for terrorists,” after British Prime Minister Theresa May pointed to the internet as a “safe space” for radicalization to spread.

The United Kingdom’s leader’s comments came the day after terrorists struck London Bridge, killing at least seven and injuring scores more with knives and a truck.

“We cannot allow 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,” May said in a statement Sunday, calling for international collaboration in implementing new cyberspace regulations that would “prevent the spread of extremist and terrorism planning.”

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Facebook policy director Simon Milner said the company wants to “aggressively remove terrorist content” and “provide a service where people feel safe.”

“That means we do not allow groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism,” Milner wrote in a statement Sunday.

The social media network has come under fire after a string of violent and graphic content was posted on the site. Some critics say Facebook has not done enough to combat extremist propaganda or fake news from being shared. 

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last month the company would hire an additional 3,000 employees to remove such material. 

“Using a combination of technology and human review, we work aggressively to remove terrorist content from our platform as soon as we become aware of it,” Milner said.

“We have long collaborated with policymakers civil society, and others in the tech industry, and we are committed to continuing this important work.”

– Updated: Monday, 2:52 p.m.