Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced a crackdown on extremist material
(
REUTERS
)
Watching streamed extremist material online will be a criminal offence under plans to crackdown on terrorist propaganda.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd will say those found guilty of repeatedly viewing terrorist material could face up to 15 years in jail.
The new law will extend an existing ban on downloading and possessing the content on a PC to repeatedly watching it through sites like YouTube.
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Ms Rudd said: “I want to make sure those who view despicable terrorist content online including jihadi websites, far-right propaganda and bomb-making instructions face the full force of the law.
“Changes will enable police and the security service to keep pace with modern patterns of internet use and intervene earlier in an investigation given the speed with which online radicalisation is taking place.”
The move comes as Ms Rudd ramped up her calls for internet giants such as Google and Facebook to do more to tackle the scourge of online extremism.
The Home Secretary yesterday criticised firms for developing encrypted software that has held back the authorities from investigating suspicious activity.
Tory conference 2017 – in pictures
Show all 23
Tory conference 2017 – in pictures
1/23
Comedian Simon Brodkin hands Theresa May a p45 during her conference speech
@simonbrodkin/Twitter screengrab
2/23
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May struggles with her water after she suffered a coughing fit whilst addressing the Conservative Party conference in Manchester
Reuters
3/23
Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson delivers his speech on the third day of the Conservative Party annual conference
4/23
Bear Grylls at the Conservative party conference at the Manchester Central Convention Complex
PA
5/23
Britain's International Development Secretary Priti Patel gestures after delivering her speech on the third day of the Conservative Party conference
Paul Ellis/AFP
6/23
Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond visit a home in Manchester during the Conservative Party conference in the city
Phil Noble/PA
7/23
Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson returns from a morning run on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference, in Manchester
Reuters/Phil Noble
8/23
Delegates view a display board showing the history of the Conservative Party as they arrive for the first day of the annual Conservative Party conference
Carl Court/Getty
9/23
Delegates carry pro-Brexit bags as they arrive for the first day of the annual Conservative Party conference
Getty
10/23
Delegates listen to Justine Greening's speech on the first day of conference
Carl Court/Getty
11/23
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip applaud a speaker on the first day of the annual Conservative Party conference
Carl Court/Getty
12/23
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson speaks at the Conservative Party Conference at the Manchester Central Convention Complex
PA
13/23
Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening, speaks on the first day of the conference
Carl Court/Getty
14/23
Chairman of the Conservative Party, Patrick McLoughlin, speaks at the opening of the first day of the Tory party conference
15/23
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, arrives for the first day of Tory party conference
Carl Court/Getty
16/23
Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon, arrives at conference
Getty
17/23
Home Secretary, Amber Rudd (C), attends the first day of the Conservative Party conference
Carl Court/Getty
18/23
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, attends the first day of the Conservative Party conference
Getty
19/23
Former Conservative minister, Edwina Currie, at the first day of conference
Carl Court/Getty
20/23
Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, arrives at conference
Carl Court/Getty
21/23
Britain's Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, arrives at the conference hotel for the Conservative Party Conference
Reuters/Darren Staples
22/23
The anti-Tory march makes its way to the Conservative party conference in Manchester
Peter Byrne/PA
23/23
A demonstrator walks a dog wearing a European Union flag during a protest on the opening day of the Conservative Party Conference, in Manchester
Reuters/Darren Staples
1/23
Comedian Simon Brodkin hands Theresa May a p45 during her conference speech
@simonbrodkin/Twitter screengrab
2/23
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May struggles with her water after she suffered a coughing fit whilst addressing the Conservative Party conference in Manchester
Reuters
3/23
Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson delivers his speech on the third day of the Conservative Party annual conference
4/23
Bear Grylls at the Conservative party conference at the Manchester Central Convention Complex
PA
5/23
Britain's International Development Secretary Priti Patel gestures after delivering her speech on the third day of the Conservative Party conference
Paul Ellis/AFP
6/23
Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond visit a home in Manchester during the Conservative Party conference in the city
Phil Noble/PA
7/23
Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson returns from a morning run on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference, in Manchester
Reuters/Phil Noble
8/23
Delegates view a display board showing the history of the Conservative Party as they arrive for the first day of the annual Conservative Party conference
Carl Court/Getty
9/23
Delegates carry pro-Brexit bags as they arrive for the first day of the annual Conservative Party conference
Getty
10/23
Delegates listen to Justine Greening's speech on the first day of conference
Carl Court/Getty
11/23
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip applaud a speaker on the first day of the annual Conservative Party conference
Carl Court/Getty
12/23
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson speaks at the Conservative Party Conference at the Manchester Central Convention Complex
PA
13/23
Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening, speaks on the first day of the conference
Carl Court/Getty
14/23
Chairman of the Conservative Party, Patrick McLoughlin, speaks at the opening of the first day of the Tory party conference
15/23
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, arrives for the first day of Tory party conference
Carl Court/Getty
16/23
Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon, arrives at conference
Getty
17/23
Home Secretary, Amber Rudd (C), attends the first day of the Conservative Party conference
Carl Court/Getty
18/23
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, attends the first day of the Conservative Party conference
Getty
19/23
Former Conservative minister, Edwina Currie, at the first day of conference
Carl Court/Getty
20/23
Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox, arrives at conference
Carl Court/Getty
21/23
Britain's Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, arrives at the conference hotel for the Conservative Party Conference
Reuters/Darren Staples
22/23
The anti-Tory march makes its way to the Conservative party conference in Manchester
Peter Byrne/PA
23/23
A demonstrator walks a dog wearing a European Union flag during a protest on the opening day of the Conservative Party Conference, in Manchester
Reuters/Darren Staples
End-to-end encryption is used in a variety of the most secure messaging apps, including those made by Apple, WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram.
The government has said that it is concerned that the technology keeps them from reading terrorists' and criminals' messages – but experts warn the same technology also keeps private citizens from having their messages read by criminals, and is used to secure banking technologies, among other functions.
Ms Rudd told a fringe event at Conservative conference that companies need to step up at a time where terrorist tactics are at a “whole new level”.
“The tech giants need to step up and do more, take a moral responsibility for the fact their platforms are being used in this way,” she said.
She added: “Businesses are developing models that keep security services at bay and that is unacceptable.”
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The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Minds. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates.