UK Targets Internet Extremism

British Home Secretary meets with ISPs and Muslim groups to discuss plans to stop the grooming of “vulnerable people” for extremism.

With the Internet one of the frontiers of the war on terror, British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has announced plans to combat Internet extremism, hopingto stop “vulnerable” young people being drawn toward radical groups, the BBC reports.   Smith announced that she’s been working with major ISPs and Muslim groups on plans.  "We are already working closely with the communications industry to take action against pedophiles. I believe we should also take action against those who groom vulnerable people for thepurposes of violent extremism," Smith will say in a statement today. "An effective response to terrorism depends on us – on the active commitment of individuals and communities to certainrights and responsibilities, to shared values which apply irrespective of religion or culture."   The government has plans to spend $1 billion to fund counter-terrorism and securitymeasures, in addition to backing a traveling roadshow which features Muslim figures discussing extremism.   So far the government’s previous policy hasn’t proved effective in acountry with a large young Muslim population, so it’s hoped that this new tack might work to combat the growth of radicalism.