Key Takeaways
- Facebook has been accused of hosting terrorist propaganda that celebrated the murder of Jews and praised Islamic State.
- The posts, which included celebrations of the Bondi beach massacre, were still on Facebook two days after the attack and received shares and likes.
- The Community Security Trust has reported Britain-based accounts to counter-terrorism police in the UK as a matter of urgency.
- Facebook has said it is in the process of removing some of the posts, but the CST has criticized the company for being too slow to take down the content.
- The incident has raised concerns about the spread of terrorist content on social media and the need for companies to take stronger action to prevent it.
Introduction to the Issue
Facebook has been accused of hosting terrorist propaganda that celebrated the murder of Jews and praised Islamic State. The posts, which included celebrations of the Bondi beach massacre, were still on Facebook two days after the attack and received shares and likes. This has raised concerns about the spread of terrorist content on social media and the need for companies to take stronger action to prevent it. The Community Security Trust, a leading anti-hate group, has criticized Facebook for being too slow to take down the content, saying that the company is "incapable of meeting even their most basic of responsibilities" and is "putting all of us in danger as a result."
The Bondi Beach Massacre
The Bondi beach massacre, which occurred on December 14, resulted in the deaths of 15 people who were celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukah. One of the attackers also died. The incident was allegedly carried out by a father and son who were IS supporters. The posts on Facebook, which included video of the aftermath of the attack, praised the attackers and praised Islamic State. One post showed a photo of one of the gunmen and said: "The coming years of art and hell," and contained praise for an IS leader. This had 12 shares and more than 300 likes. Another post showed a video of the aftermath of the attack and said: "Allah is the greatest and praise to Allah." This post had more than 100 likes, 27 comments, and four shares recorded.
Response from Facebook and Regulators
Facebook has said it is in the process of removing some of the posts, but the CST has criticized the company for being too slow to take down the content. Dave Rich, the director of policy for the CST, said: "The sheer volume of IS-supporting accounts promoting terrorist content on Facebook is deeply alarming, and the posts celebrating the Bondi terrorist attack are utterly nauseating." Ofcom, the media regulator, has said that it has received "evidence that suggests terrorist content and illegal hate speech is persisting on some of the largest social media sites." The regulator has reminded social media companies that they have a responsibility to take down illegal content swiftly. A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook, declined to answer a series of questions but said: "The content was removed for violating our policies around dangerous organisations and individuals."
Concerns about Terrorist Threats
The focus on pro-IS material on popular social media sites comes amid concern about an increase in terrorist efforts to target Jewish people across the west. Two men were convicted on December 22 of a plot to get machine guns and shoot Jewish people around the north-west of England. In that plot and the Sydney massacre, both sets of terrorists’ approaches had a degree of sophistication. Though neither was "directed" by IS, the Sydney attackers visited the Philippines and the north-west England machine-gun plotters had contact with an IS person overseas and were sophisticated enough to try to bypass Jewish community security and infiltrate a Facebook group, giving them details of potential Jewish targets. Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, told the Guardian: "The terrorist threats we face do not stand still and we rarely confine them to history. Instead, they flex in intensity and risk over time – and so does our response."
Need for Stronger Action
The incident has raised concerns about the need for social media companies to take stronger action to prevent the spread of terrorist content. The Home Office has said that social media content promoting terrorism or violence against communities is "absolutely unacceptable" and will not be tolerated. The law is clear: social media platforms must take action to prevent illegal content on their sites, including terrorist and violent material. The CST has called on Ofcom to urgently investigate Meta’s failings and to take strong action where possible. The incident highlights the need for social media companies to be more proactive in removing terrorist content and for regulators to take stronger action to hold them to account.
