This is the seventh edition of the Transparency Report of the European Union Internet Referral Unit.
The report provides a factual snapshot of the EU IRU’s activities in prevention in 2023. It includes the sum of the Unit’s activities aimed at reducing public access to terrorist content online.
The prevention activities of the EU IRU are focused on three areas of work: TCO monitoring and analysis, referrals, and public-private partnerships. The activities in these areas are highlighted in this report.
In addition, the report outlines the EU IRU’s activities in support of implementing the Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online, which was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in June 2021 and became applicable in all EU member states on 7 June 2022.
The EU IRU was established in 2015 to support EU member states in preventing and combating serious crimes, including violent extremism and terrorism, committed through the Internet.
Between 2015 and 2023, the EU IRU assessed over 7,364 pieces of online content, triggering 6,399 referral requests, with a success rate of 95 per cent for subsequent removal.
In December 2022, the EU IRU coordinated a Referral Action Day involving specialized units from 14 countries, including 13 EU member states and one non-EU country.
The EU IRU has contributed significantly to the removal of terrorist content online. For instance, the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) removed 310,000 pieces of content during its first eight years. The EU IRU is developing an EU Platform on illicit content online (PERCI), a single system connecting all member states to facilitate referrals and removal.
