Reader's Digest – 15 July 2022

Reader's Digest – 15 July 2022

Our mid-month review of articles on terrorist and violent extremist use of the internet, counterterrorism, digital rights, and tech policy.

Job Alerts!

We're expanding our team! We're currently looking to recruit a variety of roles to help upscale and expand our current work. If you're interested in joining us, take a look at the current positions we're recruiting for below. You can find the full job descriptions and how to apply on our website.

• Head of Communications 
  We are looking for a Head of Communications who will be responsible for developing and implementing Tech Against Terrorism’s communications strategy. You will play a key role in raising awareness of the work we do and shaping the way in which we communicate with stakeholders, including government bodies, global organisations, tech companies and journalists.
   
• Project Manager
  Tech Against Terrorism is looking for its first ever Project Manager to support across planning for our latest series of funded projects. In this role, you will help organise the team and apply and improve processes to manage our workflows so we can deliver quality work to our clients. You will become the point of contact for clients when they need us, from conception to post-project wrap-up and support. 
   
• Head of Commercial Partnerships
  Tech Against Terrorism is looking for its first ever Head of Commercial Partnerships to drive the implementation of our work and support programmes for the global tech industry. You will be responsible for building and managing commercial and strategic partnerships with expert organisations and lead the creation and implementation of Tech Against Terrorism's commercial strategy.
   
• Chief of Staff
  Tech Against Terrorism is looking for its first ever Chief of Staff to drive the implementation of our work and support programmes for the global tech industry. You will be responsible for line managing the efforts of Tech Against Terrorism and acting as liaison between team leads and Tech Against Terrorism’s Director. You will help lead the creation of an overall organisational strategy and support delivery across our three teams: open-source intelligence analysis, research, and policy. 
   
• Open-Source Intelligence Analyst
  The role will involve collecting, collating and analysing publicly available information at scale as well as drafting analytical reports. You will be responsible for conducting online investigations for a variety of our stakeholders including in the public and private sector, and IGOs. Depending on skills and experience the successful candidate may be taken on at junior, intermediate or senior level.

Updates

• This month, we welcomed our newest Tech Against Terrorism Member platform: Clubhouse! We have had the pleasure of supporting Clubhouse throughout its participation in the Tech Against Terrorism Mentorship Programme, and look forward to continue working with Clubhouse to counter terrorist use of the internet whilst respecting human rights and freedom of expression. 
   
• This month, we celebrated the 1-year anniversary of our relaunched Knowledge Sharing Platform (KSP). On the first anniversary of the KSP, we are proud to have 42 tech companies registered and a total of 200+ users. The KSP collates 40+ pages of resources on TUI, online regulation, transparency reporting, and policy best practice.  
   
• We've added a new resource to the KSP on Content Moderation Circumvention Tactics and Recommendations for Tech Platforms. This resource is the latest addition to the KSP’s “Terrorist Use of the Internet & Proscribed Groups” section which is dedicated to providing information and resources on terrorist and violent extremist use of the internet. 
   
• On 13 July, Research Manager, Anne Craanen, participated in the Radicalisation Awareness Network's Training Programme on "Targeting the Youth." She provided information about our research into terrorist use of the internet, with particular focus on youth demographics and gaming platforms.

GIFCT Global Summit

• Our partner, the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, is holding their 2022 Global Summit virtually on 26 July 2022, United States Pacific Coast time. As a company in the mentorship pipeline advancing towards GIFCT membership, we are delighted to invite you to register to attend the Summit as a potential future GIFCT member. Building on last year’s program, this year’s Summit will bring together experts and practitioners from across the world to discuss the latest progress from GIFCT and its global network of partners and stakeholders.
   
• Given ongoing concerns and limitations for in-person convening as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, GIFCT is striving to make a hybrid format for this Summit a meaningful experience for those who join virtually. As such, virtual attendees for the Summit will be able to join multiple sessions with the ability to raise questions and interact with the on-stage discussion. 
   
• You can register to virtually attend the Summit at the link here. Those who register will later receive an email containing information about the Summit’s various plenary and breakout sessions. Please direct all questions to events@gifct.org and a member of the team will be in touch promptly. 

Top Stories

• A court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has declared the ban on Twitter in Nigeria imposed by President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2021 as unlawful. They declared the act as inconsistent with the provisions of Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
   
• An amendment to the UK's proposed Online Safety Bill would allow the communications watchdog, Ofcom, to demand that tech firms deploy or develop new technology that can help find abuse material and stop its spread. If a company fails to adopt that technology, Ofcom would have the power to impose fines of up to £18m or 10% of a company’s global annual turnover.
  
  You can read Tech Against Terrorism's written submission to the Online Safety Bill Consultation here. 
   
• People applying for concealed carry hand gun licenses in New York, USA, will have to submit a list of social media accounts as part of an updated screening process. The screening will conduct a review of an applicants "character and conduct," in the aim to reduce mass violence attacks. The new law and process will not be enforced until September 2022. 
   
• A US member of the Order of the Nine Angles (O9A) has been formally charged with three terrorism-related federal charges for disclosing sensitive US military information to a purported member of al-Qaeda. O9A is a far-right, Satanist violent extremist group. The case is precedent that formally connects O9A to terrorism in the US court system.
   
• Bloomberg has published an article on the adversarial shift of online actors to preserve terrorist and violent extremist content online, specifically about content relating to ongoing crisis events. They outline how a range of users download content to ensure it can be re-uploaded to overwhelm content moderation strategies, contributing to the longevity of terrorist and violent extremist content. 

For any questions, please get in touch via:
contact@techagainstterrorism.org