Internet companies being misused as extremist mouthpiece, say UN experts

'High-definition digital terror' proliferating too easily online, says panel, calling for industry to brief security council on what is being doing to stop it

A UN panel that advises the security council has called for internet and social media companies to respond to the exploitation of their services by al-Qaida and other extremist groups who use the web to recruit fighters and spout "increasingly horrific propaganda".

The panel recommended in a report circulated on Wednesday that these companies brief the security council committee monitoring sanctions against al-Qaida, its affiliates and the Islamic State group on measures they are taking to prevent such misuse.