This chapter from the book entitled “Online Terrorist Propaganda, Recruitment, and Radicalization” examines the general features of legislation enacted in Western nations to counter the ways that radical organizations use the internet as a tactical and strategic tool, and it also considers the ways that extremists and terrorists use the internet for recruitment and information sharing.
The book as a whole examines practical solutions for identifying the threat posed by terrorist propaganda and U.S. Government efforts to counter it, with a focus on ISIS, the Dark Web, and national and international measures to identify, thwart, and prosecute terrorist activities online. In reviewing legislation nations have adopted to counter terrorists' use of the internet to promote their causes and recruit adherents, the chapter focuses on the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. It reviews the actions taken by social media companies and internet service providers to respond to terrorists’ use of internet platforms to promote and gain recruits for their ideologies and violent strategies. The implications for free speech and privacy protections of anti-terrorism legislation that targets internet use are also addressed in this chapter. The chapter reviews cases that have been prosecuted under such legislation since 2001. Legal responses to cyber-terrorism and online radicalization efforts against legal and political systems are also addressed in this chapter.