The application icons of Facebook, Twitter and Google are displayed on an iPhone next to an earphone set in this illustration photo taken in Berlin, June 17, 2013. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski/Files
SAN FRANCISCO: An agreement by four major US Internet companies to block illegal hate speech from their services in Europe within 24 hours shows the tight corner the companies find themselves in as they face mounting pressure to monitor and control content.
The new European Union "code of conduct on illegal online hate speech" states that Facebook Inc, Google's YouTube, Twitter Inc and Microsoft will review reports of hate speech in less than 24 hours and remove or disable access to the content if necessary.
