Europol coordinates its 12th referral action day to combat online terrorist content

On 29 November 2018, Europol’s European Union Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU) organised its 12th joint Referral Action Day with the national referral units of seven Member States and third parties, including Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal and the United Kingdom. This joint action was coordinated from Europol’s headquarters in The Hague and targeted online material linked to terrorist activities.

During the Referral Action Day, the parties involved thoroughly reviewed the referral process, from the detection of terrorist content to its flagging to the online service providers. The focus of this continuous initiative included the detection and referral of terrorist content from ten file sharing platforms. A total amount of 7 393 items were assessed and referred to the participating online platforms with a request to be reviewed against their terms of service.

Europol promotes cooperative relations to combat terrorist online propaganda. Similar joint actions will continue to be organised frequently.

Based within Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) , the EU IRU detects and investigates terrorist content on the internet. Furthermore the Unit produces strategic insights into jihadist terrorism and provides support to law enforcement authorities in the EU Member States in online criminal investigations.