Yvette Cooper slams YouTube over failure to take down extremist videos
3 min read
Yvette Cooper has attacked YouTube after it emerged the internet giant is failing to take down extremist videos months after they have been complained about.
The former Labour Cabinet minister said it was “simply unacceptable” that the website was taking so long to remove the offending materials.
During an extensive study commissioned by Ms Cooper, the Henry Jackson Society thinktank identified and complained about hundreds of extremist videos over the last two months.
Of those, 61 far-Right propaganda films and 60 Islamist extremist videos were still live on the site yesterday.
One which was complained about on 1 August is entitled ‘Adolf Hitler was right’, praises the Nazi dictator and includes images of Jewish families being taken to concentration camps.
Another, flagged on 12 July, shows a man slapping a Muslim teenager with bacon and shouting ‘ISIS scum’.
The study also revealed there are live videos of children glorifying terrorism and promotional material from the Taliban.
The results emerged just days after the terror attack on a Tube train at Parsons Green station in south-west London.
Ms Cooper, who is chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the material is far too easy to access and urged the Government to do more to prevent the spread of extremist content online.
She said: "We've had ministerial summit after ministerial summit but it just isn't making enough difference. We now need proper penalties and fines for social media companies who do not act swiftly enough to remove dangerous and illegal content.
"It is simply unacceptable that YouTube are taking so long to remove material that contains images and content that glorify extremist violence. Whether that’s Islamic extremism or far Right extremism, the reality is that this material is far too easy to access.
“We know social media can play a role in the radicalisation of young people, drawing them in with twisted and warped ideology.
"YouTube has promised to do more, but they just aren't moving fast enough. Google, which owns YouTube, is one of the richest and most innovative companies on the planet. They have the resources and capability to sort this and they need to do so fast."
Dr Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, said: “Research from our database of Islamist terrorist offences from 1998 to 2015, a total of 269 profiles, has found that in over a third of offences (35%) the internet was cited as a major site for the offender’s engagement with extremism and terrorism. These ideologies can be freely disseminated and amplified online and there is room for improvement by technology firms to provide spaces to expose and debate their inconsistencies.”
A YouTube spokesperson said: "Addressing the challenge posed by extremism is a critical challenge for us all and we’re determined to be part of the solution. We’ve put our best talent and technology to the task and we’re making progress through new machine learning technology, partnerships with experts and collaborations with other companies through the Global Internet Forum.
"Through new uses of technology, the majority of videos we removed for violent extremism over the past month were taken down before receiving a single human flag. We’re doing more every day to tackle these complex issues.”
Later today, Theresa May will urge world leaders to pressure tech companies to go "further and faster" in removing extremist content.
Yesterday, Mrs May called on internet giants to do more following the Parsons Green attack. She said action needs to be taken to “stop the ‘spread of extremism, hatred and propaganda that can incite and inspire terrorism”.
Last month Home Secretary Amber Rudd travelled to Silicon Valley to urge internet giants to work more closely with governments to tackle the scourge of online extremism.
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