Joint VOX-Pol-TechAgainstTerrorism Dublin Start-up Workshop - VOX

VOX-Pol is hosting a start-up workshop in Dublin, in collaboration with Dublin City University and the Tech Against Terrorism initiative, to reach out to the tech start-up community in Ireland, to discuss counter-terrorism preparedness.

The Tech Against Terrorism project forms the knowledge-sharing component of the recently announced Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. This project will engage with startups globally, in addition to assisting in building operational capacity through the provision of Terms of Service advice, risk-assessment and mitigation tools, and knowledge sharing for startups.

While larger tech companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Microsoft have developed their own mechanisms for tackling terrorist content based on self-regulation, smaller tech companies often do not have the capacity or understanding to prevent the exploitation of their services. The founding principles of Tech Against Terrorism stems from this very recognition that assistance is required in particular areas.

Our Dublin event is designed to educate start-ups on the nature of the threat, and the ways in which their platforms might be susceptible to exploitation, to learn what particular vulnerabilities firms’ might have identified, and to ascertain the best means for the Tech Against Terrorism team to provide support.

We want to have as many tech start-ups from Dublin, and Ireland at large, as possible in attendance. In particular, we are interested in start-ups that provide social media, communications, data storage, or fintech services – as these are the areas most impacted by particular propaganda, and have the operational applicability for terrorist groups and individuals.

Workshop Format
13:00-13:15	Registration and refreshments
13:15-13:20	Welcoming remarks from ICT4Peace and UN CTED
13:20-13:50	Presentation: – Tech Against Terrorism project – The “emerging normative framework” – The role that Terms of Service (ToS) play in the norms – The three pillars of: 1) ToS; 2) Takedowns; 3) Transparency Reports – The Emerging Normative Framework: Operational and Conceptual challenges with takedowns and technical implementation of ToS – What are the next steps? How can Tech Against Terrorism support?
13:50-14:20	Operational challenges: Case study of 3 small companies – how have they responded? What additional support do they recommend?
14:20-14:30	Coffee break
14:30-15:15	Workshop on (1) Terms of Service (ToS) – what should be included? How can companies ensure they are protected by their ToS?
15:15-16:00	Workshop on (2) Content and takedown processes – what is best-practice? What do companies need to support this? What are the human rights concerns?
16:00-16:45	Workshop on (3) Transparency – what are transparency reports? How can companies ensure that they are transparent to their users and civil society?
16:45-17:00	Closing remarks and networking