Daily Sabah logo

Politics
Diplomacy Legislation War On Terror EU Affairs Elections News Analysis
TÜRKİYE
Istanbul Education Investigations Minorities Expat Corner Diaspora
World
Mid-East Europe Americas Asia Pacific Africa Syrian Crisis Islamophobia
Business
Automotive Economy Energy Finance Tourism Tech Defense Transportation News Analysis
Lifestyle
Health Environment Travel Food Fashion Science Religion History Feature Expat Corner
Arts
Cinema Music Events Portrait Reviews Performing Arts
Sports
Football Basketball Motorsports Tennis
Opinion
Columns Op-Ed Reader's Corner Editorial
PHOTO GALLERY
JOBS ABOUT US RSS PRIVACY CONTACT US
© Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2023

Daily Sabah logo

عربي
  • Politics
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • Elections
    • News Analysis
  • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Expat Corner
    • Diaspora
  • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • Islamophobia
  • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
  • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
  • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Reviews
    • Performing Arts
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
  • Gallery
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
  • TV

G7 to pressure internet giants on terror propaganda online

by

ISCHIA, Italy Oct 19, 2017 - 12:00 am GMT+3
 Reuters Photo
| Reuters Photo
by Oct 19, 2017 12:00 am

Tech giants including Google, Facebook and Twitter will come under pressure in Italy this week to go further and faster in helping G7 powers tackle the ever-greater threat of extremists online.

A two-day meet of Group of Seven interior ministers, which kicks off on the Italian island of Ischia on Thursday, comes just days after U.S.-backed forces took full control of Raqqa in Syria, which had become a byword for atrocities carried out by the Daesh terrorist group.

Despite the breakthrough in the battle against Daesh, the head of Britain's domestic intelligence service said Wednesday that the U.K. was facing its most severe terrorist threat ever, particularly due to the spread of terrorist material online.

MI5 head Andrew Parker said attacks could now accelerate rapidly from inception to action, and "this pace, together with the way extremists can exploit safe spaces online, can make threats harder to detect."

In a first for a G7 meet, representatives from Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter will take part in the talks between the seven ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

"The internet plays a decisive role in radicalization. Over 80 percent of conversations and radicalization happen online," said Italy's Marco Minniti, who is hosting the summit on the volcanic island off Naples.

In June, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube announced the launch of an anti-terror partnership, the "Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism," aimed at thwarting the spread of extremist content online.

Facebook has launched campaigns in Belgium, Britain, France and Germany to develop "best practices."

And in September, Twitter touted victories in the battle against tweets promoting extremist violence, saying it has been vanquishing those kinds of accounts before governments even ask.

But last month top Western counter-terror chiefs said they need more support from social media companies to detect potential threats, particularly with terrorist attacks increasingly being carried out by home-grown "lone wolves."

Tough privacy laws and protections enjoyed by the largely U.S.-based web giants are impeding authorities, they said.

Some firms are using software aimed at helping them quickly find and eliminate extremist content, developed by Dartmouth College computer science professor Hany Farid, a senior advisor to the US Counter Extremism Project.

But Farid told French Press Agency (AFP) it was unclear how broadly it was being deployed and urged the G7 to "give serious consideration to legislative relief" if the giants fail to "wake up and respond more aggressively" to abuses of their systems.

While some warn terror online will be difficult to conquer, with extremists simply moving onto the dark web, Italian expert Marco Lombardi said terrorists would not readily give up the mass-audience potential of social media.

Opportunities for "conversion, propaganda and dissemination" lie "on sites capable of influencing thousands of youngsters with a few 'likes'," said Lombardi, director of the research centre ITSTIME (Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues & Managing Emergencies).

The British government outlined an internet safety strategy on Wednesday with proposals it will likely share with fellow G7 members, including an attempt to persuade leading web players to pay for measures to combat dangers.

While Germany has focused particularly on defending itself from cyber attacks, it launched the ZITis surveillance agency last month, which will specialise in "digital forensics" as part of its strategy to fight terrorism.

For its part, despite being labelled an enemy by Daesh, Japan has escaped attacks to date. Nevertheless, in June its lawmakers passed a controversial bill allowing authorities to target terror conspiracies.

  • shortlink copied
  • Last Update: Oct 19, 2017 9:40 am
    RELATED TOPICS
    fight-against-terrorism DEUTSCHE-BANK US-LIBYA-RELATIONS
    KEYWORDS
    homepage
    The Daily Sabah Newsletter
    Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey, it’s region and the world.
    You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
    No Image
    US protesters take to streets for Breonna Taylor
    PHOTOGALLERY
    • POLITICS
    • Diplomacy
    • Legislation
    • War On Terror
    • EU Affairs
    • News Analysis
    • TÜRKİYE
    • Istanbul
    • Education
    • Investigations
    • Minorities
    • Diaspora
    • World
    • Mid-East
    • Europe
    • Americas
    • Asia Pacific
    • Africa
    • Syrian Crisis
    • İslamophobia
    • Business
    • Automotive
    • Economy
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Tourism
    • Tech
    • Defense
    • Transportation
    • News Analysis
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Science
    • Religion
    • History
    • Feature
    • Expat Corner
    • Arts
    • Cinema
    • Music
    • Events
    • Portrait
    • Performing Arts
    • Reviews
    • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Motorsports
    • Tennis
    • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Op-Ed
    • Reader's Corner
    • Editorial
    • Photo gallery
    • Jobs
    • privacy
    • about us
    • contact us
    • RSS
    © Turkuvaz Haberleşme ve Yayıncılık 2021