Lawmakers ask Twitter to fight terrorist tweets

A bipartisan group of House members has asked Twitter to set up a dedicated team tasked with quickly taking down graphic images and propaganda tweeted out by terrorist groups.

"We are concerned that designated foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters actively use Twitter to disseminate propaganda, drive fundraising, and recruit new members — even posting graphic content depicting the murder of individuals they have captured," they wrote.

Members of the House are asking Twitter to block terrorist tweets. Photo: Shutterstock

"[W]e urge Twitter to treat all terrorist activity in the same way it treats other objectionable content," they wrote. "Users should have the option to report terrorist content in a streamlined manner, allowing Twitter to quickly block content and accounts that support terrorism, and Twitter should have a dedicated team to review such reports in a timely fashion."

Their letter was sent amid growing concerns that groups like the Islamic State are successfully using Twitter to advertise their terrorist exploits and lure Americans and others to join them in the Middle East.

Twitter has already implemented a policy of closing accounts run by the Islamic State or its supporters, a move that prompted the group to threaten Twitter employees. Earlier this month, the group asked Twitter co-founded how he would "protect his helpless employees when their necks are on the line."

Twitter said it was working with authorities to investigate the threat, according to USA Today.

The House letter to Twitter CEO Dick Costolo was signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.), ranking member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), terrorism subcommittee chairman Ted Poe (R-Texas), and ranking Asia subcommittee member Brad Sherman (D-Calif.). Read it here: