MSFT Microsoft Corporation

By Natalia Drozdiak 

BRUSSELS--Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Microsoft Inc. have agreed with the European Union to remove from their websites information visible in Europe that incites hatred or acts of terror to help combat the growing threat of terrorism on the continent.

In a common code of conduct, the U.S. tech companies vowed that they would review precise and substantial complaints on user's behavior within 24 hours of receiving them and cut off access to the content, if required.

The initiative, which clarifies how the companies abide by existing EU rules to tackle violent extremism and hate speech, comes in the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris. Some of the alleged Paris attackers communicated using social media.

"Social media is unfortunately one of the tools that terrorist groups use to radicalize young people and racists use to spread violence and hatred," said EU Justice Chief Vera Jourova. "This agreement is an important step forward to ensure that the Internet remains a place of free and democratic expression, where European values and laws are respected."

The companies pledged to take down any illegal information that was either posted by someone based in a European member state or that was accessible in any European country, even if posted in another part of the world.

Under the EU rules, executives at the companies could face at least one year of jail time if they don't comply.

The companies already endeavor to remove illegal information when it is reported, but the initiative aims to streamline the efforts across the industry. In 2015, Twitter took down more than 125,000 accounts related to terrorism, which had primarily ISIS links.

"We remain committed to letting the tweets flow. However, there is a clear distinction between freedom of expression and conduct that incites violence and hate," said Karen White, Twitter's head of public policy in Europe.

The tech firms also said they would continue to work with the EU to identify and discredit extremist speech by promoting so-called "counter-narratives" and supporting educational programs that encourage critical thinking.

In addition, the tech companies promised to educate users about the type of conduct that wasn't permitted under their rules and how to submit complaints.

Global advocacy organization AJC Transatlantic Institute welcomed the agreement but said that it still wanted to see more clarity from the tech companies about their take-down procedures.

"We urge social-media companies to become more transparent about their internal review process of complaints and the training and background of those employees making the decisions on removing or not removing content, " Daniel Schwammenthal, director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute, said.

Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 31, 2016 06:34 ET (10:34 GMT)

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