The first event of the recently created Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) is to be held in San Francisco, announced Facebook, on 1st August with representatives from the tech industry, government, and civil society in attendance. The event will also welcome the United Kingdom’s Home Secretary Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP and the United States’ Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Elain Duke along with representatives from the Canadian government, the Australian government, the United Nations, and the European Union.
The purpose of the launch event will be to twofold: first, to allow the GIFCT to formalise goals for collaboration and identification with smaller technology companies, namely in identifying those areas of support that are most required through workshops; second, to build on initiatives such as the shared industry hash database, and to continue to foster collaboration with smaller tech companies, civil society groups and academics, and governments.
The GIFCT was first formed around three common strategies:
Tech Against Terrorism, as a partner of the GIFCT, will focus on the second strategy - to assist in reaching 50 companies and to information-share on best practices in countering terrorism online.
This launch event in San Francisco will be the first hosted in partnership between the GIFCT and Tech Against Terrorism. We look forward to organising events in cities around the world later in 2017.