The European Union (EU) has threatened tech companies with further regulation unless they crack down on “extremist content” faster, according to a report.

“We are not there yet,” declared EU Security Commissioner Julian King on the topic of removing “extremist content” as fast as possible. “We are two years down the road of this journey: to reach our final destination we now need to speed up our work.”

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos added, “It is feasible to reduce the time it takes to remove content to a few hours.”

“There is a lot of room for improvement, for this cooperation to produce even better results, starting with the reporting from the companies, which must become more regular and more transparent,” Avramopoulos proclaimed.

In their report, the Guardian explained, “If the EU is not satisfied with the further progress on the removal of extremist content by technology companies, which are primarily based in the US, it said it will come forward with legislation next year to force the issue.”

“While an online hate speech law will already come into effect on 1 January in Germany, the commission said it is keen to avoid a patchwork of national laws on the issue, favouring a self-regulatory approach,” they continued.

The EU has frequently punished popular tech companies, and in June it was reported that Google faces up to a $9 billion fine from the Union following an anti-trust investigation.

In October, the EU ordered Amazon to pay nearly $300 million over an alleged “illegal tax advantage,” while it was also reported that Google, Facebook, and Twitter were “scrambling” to stop further regulation in the United States.

Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington and Gab @Nash, or like his page at Facebook.