Policing the internet: from terrorism and extremism to ‘content used by traffickers to attract migrants and refugees’

Summary:

The author discusses a new use for the Internet Referral Unit (IRU) in Europol. Originally set up to remove 'terrorist and violent extremist' material from the internet, it will now also deal with 'content used by traffickers to attract migrants and refugees'. The legal basis for the unit was established in secret 'trilogue' meetings with the Parliament and the Commission, during negotiations on the new Europol  Regulation.

The IRU is supposed to help decrease the number of people arriving in Europe irregularly through the online detection and removal of smugglers’ activities and networks. However, until there are changes in the legal and policy framework that makes so much life threatening migration inevitable, it seems it is unlikely to alleviate the misery at Europe’s borders.The author discusses a new use for the Internet Referral Unit (IRU) in Europol. Originally set up to remove 'terrorist and violent extremist' material from the internet, it will now also deal with 'content used by traffickers to attract migrants and refugees'. The legal basis for the unit was established in secret 'trilogue' meetings with the Parliament and the Commission, during negotiations on the new Europol Regulation.

The IRU is supposed to help decrease the number of people arriving in Europe irregularly through the online detection and removal of smugglers’ activities and networks. However, until there are changes in the legal and policy framework that makes so much life threatening migration inevitable, it seems it is unlikely to alleviate the misery at Europe’s borders.