AP EXPLAINS: Why Trump can't shut down the internet
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is repeating calls for the U.S. and its allies to cut off internet access to the Islamic State group and other extremist organizations.
In Monday's speech, in which Trump also blamed Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama for the rise of the Islamic State and instability in the Middle East, Trump pledged to pursue military operations to "crush and destroy ISIS."
FIRST OBSTACLE:
No one does.
Because the internet is a global web of networks that are all owned by different governments, companies or individuals, no single entity has the ability to turn it off in parts of the world that it doesn't control.
Even within the U.S., ferreting out extremist groups and kicking them off the internet isn't realistic, given how rapidly the internet grows and changes.
[...] people have a long history of finding their way around internet restrictions, whether it's democracy activists in China or Iran, or tweens looking to circumvent their school's firewall.
Civil libertarians say any attempt to filter out the online activities of extremist groups would inevitably infringe on the free-speech rights of Americans, because it's impossible to block out that speech without blocking legitimate speech, too.
While First Amendment protections don't extend to people in other countries, the law enforcement and intelligence communities have mixed feelings about shutting down terrorist chatter online.
In theory, hackers for the U.S. or its allies could mount an internet attack to shut down a terrorist group's recruiting or communications operations, or they could just hack in to surveil the group.