Escape Routes: How far-right actors circumvent the Network Enforcement Act
September 18, 2023
For this study, the online milieu of radical right-wing and extreme right-wing actors was investigated with regard to linking to alternative platforms. The aim of the analysis was to make the cosmos of online platforms used by right-wing extremist and radical right-wing actors accessible to readers and researchers. As established social media such as Facebook, ...
Regulating terrorist content on social media: automation and the rule of law
September 18, 2023
Social-media companies make extensive use of artificial intelligence in their efforts to remove and block terrorist content from their platforms. This paper begins by arguing that, since such efforts amount to an attempt to channel human conduct, they should be regarded as a form of regulation that is subject to rule-of-law principles. The paper then ...
MODERATING EXTREMISM: THE STATE OF ONLINE TERRORIST CONTENT REMOVAL POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES
September 18, 2023
By reviewing studies of how today’s terrorist and extremist groups operate on social media in conjunction with an overview of U.S. government regulation of terrorist content online, this report finds that stricter U.S. regulation of social media providers may not be the most effective method of combating online terrorist and extremist content. ...
Who Should Regulate Extremist Content Online?
September 18, 2023
As liberal democracies grapple with the evolution of online political extremism, in addition to governments, social media and internet infrastructure companies have found themselves making more and more decisions about who gets to use their platforms, and what people say online. This raises the question that this paper explores, who should regulate extremist content online? ...
GIFCT Technical Approaches Working Group: Gap Analysis and Recommendations for deploying technical solutions to tackle the terrorist use of the internet
September 18, 2023
The objective of this report is to provide strategic guidance to tech companies, government policy makers, and solution providers in order to increase and improve investment into effective technical approaches that support platforms in tackling the terrorist use of internet services while respecting human rights. While stopping short of providing a detailed roadmap for development, ...
Counter-terrorism, social media and the regulation of extremist content
September 18, 2023
This insightful book provides an analysis of the central ethical issues that have arisen in combatting global terrorism and, in particular, jihadist terrorist groups, notably Al Qaeda, Islamic State and their affiliates. Chapters explore the theoretical problems that arise in relation to terrorism, such as the definition of terrorism and the concept of collective responsibility, ...
Recommender systems and the amplification of extremist content
September 18, 2023
Policymakers have recently expressed concerns over the role of recommendation algorithms and their role in forming “filter bubbles”. This is a particularly prescient concern in the context of extremist content online; these algorithms may promote extremist content at the expense of more moderate voices. In this article, we make two contributions to this debate. Firstly, ...
Migration Moments: Extremist Adoption of Text‑Based Instant Messaging Applications
September 18, 2023
This report examines the patchwork of online text‑based instant messaging applications preferred by jihadist and far‑right extremist groups, with a focus on charting their technical affordances and their host companies’ stances on user privacy, security and regulation. To this end, the report analyses six online messaging services (BCM, Gab Chat, Hoop Messenger, Riot.im, Rocket.Chat and ...
Proposals for Improved Regulation of Harmful Online Content
September 18, 2023
This paper offers a set of specific proposals for better describing harmful content online and for reducing the damage it causes, while protecting freedom of expression. The ideas are mainly meant for OSPs since they regulate the vast majority of online content; taken together they operate the largest system of censorship the world has ever ...
The EU Digital Services Act (DSA): Recommendations For An Effective Regulation Against Terrorist Content Online
September 18, 2023
In 2020, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Berlin carried out a sample analysis to test the extent to which YouTube, Facebook and Instagram block “manifestly illegal” terrorist content upon notification. Our findings raise doubts that the currently applied compliance systems of these companies achieve the objectives of making their services safe for users. As a ...