A proposed EU law that would force BigTech companies to delete terrorist content within an hour of publishing has been backed by lawmakers.

The legislation, which has raised concerns from civil rights groups, was first proposed in 2018 after a number of attacks took place in several European cities.

MEP Patryk Jaki told Reuters that the law "balances security and freedom of speech and expression on the internet, protects legal content and access to information for every citizen in the EU, while fighting terrorism through cooperation and trust between states".

Companies, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter could face fines up to 4 per cent of their global turnover if they do not comply with the new rules.

But the legislation has been opposed by several EU lawmakers, including the vice president of the European Parliament, Marcel Kolaja.

"We really are risking censorship across Europe. Hungarian and Polish governments already demonstrated they have no issues removing content that they disagree with," Kolaja told the news agency. "This regulation allows them to spread these practices to the territory of any other member state.”

A number civil rights groups have campaigned against the law, because they say the regulation could bolster authoritarian governments, according to Reuters.

"As the state of the rule of law in Europe is continuously deteriorating, the EU is giving further sweeping powers to law enforcement authorities to crack down on legitimate protests, freedom of expression, and media and artistic freedoms online," Anna Mazgal, EU policy adviser at Wikimedia Deutschland told the organisation.

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