US authorities are putting serious pressure on social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to do more than raise awareness and halt terrorist use of their services. Nearly all major social media outlets have been connected to the recruit and communication between terrorist groups, namely the one responsible for the shooting in San Bernardino, CA and the Paris attacks of November 13.
Legislation for Twitter, Youtube and Facebook to Alert Authorities of Terrorist Activity
Senators in California are calling for a law that requires social media platforms to alert authorities of any suspicious activity on their websites or applications. This would have become part of an Intelligence Authorization Bill that has already been approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee. However, this bill was taken down because objections were holding up the underlying bill.
After the latest San Bernardino was linked to a couple that support ISIS and the spread of jihad, authorities are more and more nervous about how strong of a platform social media is. Extremist groups have better reach to the public now more than ever. Social media platforms make it all too easy for terrorists to spread their poisonous messages, and extremism has always been contagious. The line where the threat becomes real enough to alert authorities, though, isn’t too clear.
