The White House has called on social media companies to build technologies that could help curb the spread of violent ideologies online.

The appeal was made during a meeting between officials from the White House and big social media companies on Friday.

The gathering came days after US President Donald Trump laid blame on the internet and social media for providing places to “to radicalise disturbed minds”. His comments were triggered by two deadly mass shootings in the cities of El Paso in Texas and Dayton in Ohio last weekend.

At least 31 people were killed in the back-to-back attacks.

In a statement, the White House said representatives at the meeting spoke about “how technology can be leveraged to identify potential threats, to provide help to individuals exhibiting potentially violent behaviour and to combat domestic terror.”

It added: “We urge internet and social media companies to continue their efforts in addressing violent extremism and helping individuals at risk, and to do so without compromising free speech.”

The White House declined to comment on who took part or led Friday’s closed-door meeting. Trump did not attend.

The Washington Post said Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit were invited to the meeting. The companies declined to comment.