But taking no chances, the European Union is set to propose a tough new law anyway -- threatening internet platforms, big and small, with fines if they fail to take down terrorist material, according to people familiar with the proposals that could be unveiled as soon as September. "It’s true that the positive role that some of the big companies are playing today is incomparable to the situation three years ago,” said Gilles de Kerchove, the EU’s anti-terrorism czar. “But so is the scale, breadth and complexity of the problem." An additional step in the response is "essential," he said, given the diverse online aspects of the recent attacks in Europe. Still, some critics say the big internet giants need to do more. The non-profit organization Counter Extremism Project, which aims to combat the threat of extremist ideologies, said in April that gaps remained in Facebook and others companies’ approaches to combating extremism. The group said Facebook has only emphasized the removal of Islamic State and al-Qaeda content and has provided insufficient transparency about its progress in removing content from other extremist groups. Facebook didn’t respond to requests for comment. Google and Twitter didn’t comment on the EU’s legislation.