British PM Theresa May wants to deprive extremists of safe spaces online following London attacks

THE solution to stopping terror attacks is getting internet-based services to start removing online safe spaces used by extremists, says British PM.

BRITAIN’S Prime Minister Theresa May has launched a seething attack on internet based services for providing terrorists with a safe space to spread propaganda online.

The comments follow Saturday night’s deadly terror attack at London Bridge, which left seven dead and 48 injured.

Following a meeting with Britain’s emergency crisis committee COBRA, the British Prime Minister said the internet needed to be reformed to stop terrorism planning and the spread of extremist behaviour.

She called for the UK and its allied democratic governments to reach international agreements that “regulate cyberspace”.

“We need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online,” she told the press. “We need to deprive the extremists of safe spaces online.”

Ms May said internet-based services were the biggest facilitators of extremist behaviours and suggested they need to be held accountable.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivered a strong statement about online extremism. Picture: AFP/Justin Tallis

“We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed,” she said.
“Yet that is precisely what the internet and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide.”

This isn’t the first time the British PM has been vocal about internet reform, with the regulation of online services being a strong focus for the conservative government’s strategy.

In November last year, Ms May played an instrumental role in the government’s introduction of the UK’s the Investigatory Powers Act — a controversial new surveillance law giving security and intelligence agencies the power to spy on the internet activities of Britain’s citizens.

Ms May also tried to ban end-to-end encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp, but heavy backlash from rights and privacy campaigners saw the idea scrapped.

Do you think more needs to be done to stop terrorists online? Continue the conversation in the comments below or with Matthew Dunn on Facebook and Twitter.