EU pressures internet giants to remove illegal content sooner

The companies have recently stepped up efforts to tackle the problem

The European Commission on Thursday outlined how firms like Google, Facebook and Twitter should remove illegal content more quickly from the Web, increasing pressure on the companies to do more.

The spread of illegal content on the Web, whether because it infringes copyright, involves counterfeit goods or contains threatening material, has sparked a heated debate in Europe between those who want online media firms to do more to tackle it and those who fear it could impinge on free speech.

As a result the Commission has issued a set of guidelines for how the internet firms could increase the speed and effectiveness