The outgoing chief of British spy agency GCHQ today called on technology companies to do more to tackle extremism online.
Robert Hannigan, who has led the organisation since 2014, said firms have moved a “long way” in countering terrorist material online but there was still “further to go”.
He added: “They were very reluctant to accept responsibility for any of the material on their networks, whether that was terrorism or crime, and I think now they do and they understand everything they carry has implications, including fake news most recently and topically.
"They are trying... they’ve further to go and they need to work with government and civil society and other groups to work out how to drive off extremism content from the internet.”
The role of internet companies in hosting extremist material online has been brought into sharp focus following the attack at Westminster two weeks ago.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman has said firms such as Facebook and Google “can and must do more” to remove material from the web.
In his interview with the BBC Mr Hannigan, who has announced he is quitting for personal reasons, also said that most UK intelligence-sharing is done outside EU structures, so Brexit did not mean the end of exchanging information.
He said it was a “statement of fact” that the UK brought a lot to European partners over intelligence, defence and security and it would be in “everyone’s interest” to continue this.
