Excerpt:
The FBI should shut down web sites carrying al-Qaida propaganda on American-based servers, including its English-language magazine, if it has the ability and legal authority to do so, a ranking member of Congress said Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., repeatedly asked FBI Director Robert Mueller to pursue the issue during a hearing on the FBI's 2012 budget request. Wolf chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.
The capability exists, Mueller said, but there are questions about the First Amendment and the likelihood that the radical content would simply migrate to other websites. Mueller acknowledged that young Americans are being radicalized by jihadist content on the Internet, especially the sermons and writings of American-born al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.