May's comments come just days after a terrorist attack in Manchester. Her call is for governmental action, but tech companies have already stepped up to try and curb the spread of terrorism. Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Alphabet-owned YouTube are creating a shared database of "hashes" for any terror-related content they remove from their services. Twitter tripled the amount of terrorist accounts it suspended last year and Google launched a series of ads aimed at dissuading would-be terrorists from joining extremist organizations. Engadget has reached out to several tech companies for comment on this matter. Twitter responded by pointing us to this past March's Transparency Report, which contains details on the company's proactive steps to curb content like this.

There is a fine line between protecting free speech and cracking down on violent groups bent on killing in the name of an extremist cause, of course. May's proposals likely have the best of intentions to protect citizens around the globe, but some administrations some administrations have a mixed history of blanket solutions that may cause more harm than good.

Update: "We want to provide a service where people feel safe," says Monika Bickert, Facebook's head of Global Policy Management, in a statement. "That means we do not allow groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism. Using a combination of technology and human review, we work aggressively to remove terrorist content from our platform as soon as we become aware of it — and if there is an emergency involving imminent harm to someone's safety, we notify law enforcement. Online extremism can only be tackled with strong partnerships. We have long collaborated with policymakers, civil society, and others in the tech industry, and we are committed to continuing this important work together."