“The war against Islamic radicalism is both a shooting war and a battle of ideology. Our enemies understand that they cannot defeat us face to face on the battleground, so they have created a new battlefield on the Internet,” Shuster said.

“Terrorists hope that by opening this new front, their view of the world will prevail.  It is up to the owners and users of video-trading sites to remain vigilant and help to deny our enemies this victory,” Shuster said.

Jihadi terrorist organizations have long understood the benefits of the Internet to spread their cause. Jihadi sites allow terrorists to fundraise and distribute propaganda.  They also facilitate the radicalization, recruitment and training of prospective terrorists.  The popularity, ease of use, and negligible cost of video-sharing websites like YouTube and LiveLeak have provided yet another channel for terrorists to spread their ideology of hate.

Terrorist organizations including Al-Qaeda have set up sophisticated media operations whose mission is to create and distribute jihadi propaganda and training materials on the Internet. 

Shuster’s legislation would express Congress’ desire to see the corporate owners of video-sharing website take action to remove jihadi videos from their sites.  Additionally, the legislation encourages website owners to cooperate with law enforcement if their sites users are found to participate in terrorism.

“I doubt that the American public in World War II would have accepted the major media outlets of the time distributing Nazi propaganda at face value,” Shuster added.  “Times have changed, media has evolved, but the fact remains – terrorists hope their supporters see these videos and are encouraged to attack Western interests.  These videos aid the enemy and they must be confronted.”