Washington: Attending the White House's summit on countering violent extremism, the Attorney-General, George Brandis, has announced the Australian government will create a body to monitor social media and take down terrorist propaganda.

The government has set aside $17 million for the body.

Attorney‐General George Brandis says the internet is not beyond the law. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"We must move beyond the notion that some people have that the internet and social media are a lawless state, they are not," he said.

"One of the learnings from this conference in Washington today is that social media, the internet, cyberspace, are one of the most sophisticated techniques and tools that terrorist groups like ISIL take advantage of."