Web giants sign up to EU hate speech rules

Google, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft have signed up to new European Union rules on taking down illegal hate speech as lawmakers and internet giants try to cope with violent racist abuse and technically savvy terrorists online.

The “code of conduct” will require companies to “review the majority” of flagged hate speech within 24 hours — and remove it, if necessary — and even develop “counter narratives” to combat the growing problem. Online hate speech has created a policy minefield for both businesses and government. The speed at which the issue has developed has left a regulatory vacuum, which the industry has attempted to fill with its own solutions. Although many of the code’s policies were already in place, the rules mark the first attempt to codify how internet giants deal with hate speech across the EU.