Terrorism and the Internet 406-6

In July 1986 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said that democratic nations ”must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend.” Now, more than thirty years later, the thinking of some commentators is that the internet is aiding and abetting jihadist attacks. They charge Facebook and Google with ignoring extremist online propaganda. Other technology firms are faulted for permitting terrorists to communicate unhindered with one another. The current debate about terrorism and extremist dialogue raises the same question of the oxygen of publicity. In the past, internet firms have worked out the rules later. Now, it seems, they must anticipate problems early on. If you were a member of a cyber team set up to deal with this issue, what would your recommendation(s) be?