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Fighting Terror

Fighting Terror brings together counter-terrorism experts and practitioners from Europe, the United States, and beyond to address different approaches to combat terrorism in our society. Our frank discussions cover the lifecycle of terrorism from propaganda and recruitment, to financing, action and failure. This series is brought to you by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and hosted by Lucinda Creighton, Senior Advisor to CEP in Europe and a former European Affairs Minister. CEP is a non-profit organisation that has been working to combat the flow of terrorist as well as extremist propaganda and finances globally.

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Fighting Terror

EU efforts to regulate Big Tech and counter extremism online

July 22, 2021 • Lucinda Creighton • Episode 12

In December 2020, the European Commission presented the Digital Services Act (DSA) proposal, a major update to internet regulation in the EU. The ambitious legislation aims to create a safer digital space by introducing various new rules and obligations for the Big Tech companies, such as measures to counter the algorithmic amplification, notice and takedown mechanisms or higher transparency. The text is currently in the negotiation phase between the Parliament, the EU Council and the Commission.

The DSA is only the latest of several initiatives to regulate Big Tech companies and counter harmful content online, such as the German NetzDG, which came into force in 2018, or the EU Terrorist Content Regulation adopted in April 2021. Policymakers in Europe and elsewhere increasingly understand the great responsibility of Big Tech in spreading hate online and address it.

In today’s podcast, Lucinda Creighton was joined by CEP Senior Adviser Alexander Ritzmann to discuss internet regulation and extremist content online while particularly focussing on the DSA. Alexander Ritzmann advises the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Berlin on internet regulation, including the NetzDG, Artificial Intelligence/Transparency, and the EU Digital Services Act as well as on the effective countering of extremist/terrorist actors and content online. In this context, he authored several policy papers on various internet regulations, most recently the DSA. He has also testified before the German Bundestag, the European Parliament and the US House of Representatives on these matters.