Government talks with web giants on tackling extremism on social media

The Department of Justice has held talks with social media giants in Ireland in relation to countering online radicalisation and extremism, it has emerged.

The department has also cast doubt over the effectiveness of establishing a hi-tech Garda unit to monitor and take down extremist online material.

This follows the publication of a damning report by UK parliamentarians, which accused Facebook, Twitter, and Google of “consciously failing” to combat the use of their sites to promote terrorism.