The 2019 GIFCT annual summit: summary of Tech Against Terrorism's activities over the past year

On 24 July Tech Against Terrorism participated in the 2019 Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism’s (GIFCT) summit held at Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Below we summarise the work that Tech Against Terrorism has been carrying out with the GIFCT during the past year.

Operational support to platforms

Jihadology
We completed the update of academic blog Jihadology.net to secure the site from terrorist exploitation whilst allowing for it to remain a vital platform for academic researchers. This work was funded by the GIFCT.

Terrorist Content Analytics Platform
We were awarded a C$1 million grant by the Canadian government to develop the Terrorist Content Analytics Platform (TCAP). The TCAP is a repository of verified terrorist content that will support smaller companies’ moderation procedures through an ‘alert’ function, as well as help drive increased analytical understanding of terrorist use of of the internet.

Global tech company engagement

Workshops
We organised three workshops on behalf of the GIFCT:

• Tel Aviv, Israel (November 2018)
• Berlin, Germany (December 2018)
• Amman, Jordan (June 2019)
• Upcoming workshops include New Delhi, India, and London, United Kingdom (dates TBD)

Over the past three years we have organised 11 global workshops with the GIFCT.

Mentorship
From this year we support the GIFCT membership programme by providing mentorship for smaller tech companies enrolling to the programme. Specifically, we support the companies that do not yet meet the membership criteria stipulated by the GIFCT and help them move above the threshold for membership. Pinterest, the latest company to join the GIFCT, took part in the mentorship scheme. We are currently working with three other companies in this process.

Knowledge-sharing

E-learning webinars
We introduced e-learning sessions to be carried out in partnership with the GIFCT. Topics include hash-sharing, Terms of Service, content moderation and mental health, defining terrorism in content standards, and law enforcement engagement. Dates for upcoming e-learning sessions will be shared shortly.

Analysis
We provided analysis of:

• The Christchurch, New Zealand attack and tech sector responses
• ISIS’ use of the decentralised web and smaller platforms
• Assessment of global far-right and their use of online platforms
• Assessment of European terrorism research

Knowledge-Sharing Platform (KSP)
Following our launch of the KSP in 2017, we are currently updating the platform. This includes the introduction of the Community Awareness Training, developed by the US Department of Homeland Security and the UK Home Office. We are also updating the KSP to ensure that includes additional resources on far-right terrorism.