Disrupting Terrorism Online in 2024

A review by Adam Hadley CBE, Executive Director, Tech Against Terrorism.  

Dear partners and stakeholders,  

As we reflect on the past year, the urgency of countering terrorism and violent extremism online has never been clearer, from the March attacks in Moscow to July’s events in Southport, UK and the escalation of conflict in the Middle East. Governments, tech platforms, and civil society must unite to tackle this challenge—holding platforms accountable, enhancing regulations, and dedicating resources to protect online spaces. At Tech Against Terrorism, we remain committed to this fight, and our expanded 24/7 crisis response capability and new technology-driven responses are a testament to that dedication. We continue to save lives by disrupting terrorist use of the internet and upholding human rights. 

This year, we have achieved key milestones in this mission: We relaunched our longstanding Tech Against Terrorism Network and Trustmark, an accreditation awarded to tech companies that share our commitment to disrupting terrorist activity online while respecting human rights. Our Knowledge Sharing Platform also surpassed 500+ users.  

Our Terrorist Content Analytics Platform (TCAP) has now identified over 55,000 unique URLs, sent over 34,000 alerts to tech platforms, and now includes 54 terrorist entities. In addition, we disrupted 8 terrorist-operated websites. This year, we responded to the threat picture and international designation by adding Hizballah and Hamas to the TCAP.   

As part of our focus on developing robust technical solutions, we co-developed the content moderation tool Altitude together with Google Jigsaw. We made significant strides with the development of Generative AI solutions to tackle terrorist content with the support of Public Safety Canada. We have developed an LLM that successfully identifies and classifies terrorist content for alerting through the TCAP. 

The TCAP now also offers two new features:  

• Archive Database: The first verified database of terrorist content holds over 46,000 files (2.7TB) of verified content. It is designed to help platforms prevent abuse and aid research into the nature of the terrorist threat. The Archive Database contains a variety of media files featuring a breadth of types of terrorist content. These files are available to platforms and researchers for deconfliction through hash-sharing technologies. 

• Hash Sharing: Allows platforms to ingest the cryptographic and perceptual hashes produced from known terrorist, violent or extremist content media files in bulk so they can use them in their content moderation processes. Our database currently holds over 182,000 unique hashes and is continuously growing through our real-time hashing capabilities. 

Our global impact has continued to grow this year. We now operate a 24/7 Emergency Response Team, ensuring we can respond to terrorist attacks at any time, with support from the Albanese Labor Government in Australia. In Europe, we successfully concluded our workshop cycle to support tech platforms’ compliance with the Terrorist Content Online Regulation as part of the Tech Against Terrorism Europe project. 

Our work has received recognition across the sector, reflecting the significant impact and dedication of our team. It was a personal honour to be appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for tackling terrorist use of the internet. This award is a testament to our collective commitment to disrupting terrorism and the progress we have achieved as a team here at Tech Against Terrorism. 

Looking ahead to 2025, our mission remains clear. Terrorist actors continue to evolve, and our response must be adaptive, innovative, and collaborative. We will continue to build partnerships, deliver cutting-edge tools, and provide insights to keep platforms and communities safe. 

Thank you to our partners, supporters, and the Tech Against Terrorism team for their dedication. Together, we will ensure that technology is used for good. A special thank you to our colleagues at DCU, ISD, Swansea University, Voxpol, Christchurch Call Foundation, EUIF, UN CTED and their Global Research Network, EGRN, and GIFCT for their invaluable contributions to the counterterrorism sector. Your innovation, expertise, and commitment are pivotal in creating a safer and more resilient online environment. We are inspired by the work you do and look forward to our continued collaboration in addressing these critical global challenges.  

Wishing you all a safe and peaceful start to 2025. 

Adam Hadley  CBE
Executive Director, Tech Against Terrorism 

OUR IMPACT

As we bid farewell to 2024, our teams also reflect on a year marked by significant accomplishments: 

Open Source Intelligence: We elevated our threat intelligence capabilities, enhancing our ability to identify, track, and disrupt terrorist activity online. We concentrated on monitoring the spread of TVEC content post-October 7, 2023, the ongoing threat posed by terrorist-operated websites (TOWs), and the evolving use of emerging technologies by TVE actors. This year, we have developed a trusted flaggers programme to enable access for trusted and verified subject matter experts – with demonstrable experience in disrupting terrorist use of the internet – to utilise the Terrorist Content Analytics Platform (TCAP) to alert designated terrorist propaganda.

Capacity Building: Since launching our mentorship programme at the beginning of 2017, we have been dedicated to our mission to empower small tech platforms to future-proof their policies and processes against the misuse of their services by terrorists. This year marked the conclusion of expanding our existing mentorship programme to the GIFCT, and we take great pride in having provided independent policy advice and support to over 50 platforms during this time. We have also made the decision to redevelop the Knowledge Sharing Platform (originally built in 2021) as a more dynamic and accessible policy resource for tech platforms. We are delighted to have 75 different tech platforms represented in the readership of the KSP.

Technological Approaches: We made substantial strides in enhancing the Terrorist Content Analytics Platform (TCAP). Notable developments include the creation of the TCAP Archive, the first-ever database of verified terrorist media, and the launch of several new products, including hash-sharing APIs for media and URLs. By leveraging advancements in AI, we enhanced TCAP outcomes and introduced new content collection methods to strengthen our OSINT capabilities and enable real-time content deconfliction. These efforts resulted in the growth of our archive to over 46,000 files.

Community building: This year, we relaunched the Tech Against Terrorism Network, a suite of services designed to support tech platforms in combating online terrorism while upholding human rights. In November, we also relaunched our Trustmark, a certification awarded to tech platforms that demonstrate a strong commitment to disrupting terrorist activity online. These initiatives aim to foster trust and collaboration among users, platforms and stakeholders. 

OUR HIGHLIGHTS 

As part of our mission to drive sustainable action against online terrorist activity, we engaged with policymakers and influential forums worldwide. We were invited to speak at key conferences, interviewed by leading media outlets, and consulted by governments and policymakers to shape effective strategies.

Tech platform engagement: This year, we hosted three webinars addressing key issues in online counter-terrorism: Mapping Far-Right Terrorist Propaganda Online, Combatting Terrorist Misuse of Messaging Apps and Generative AI’s Counterterrorism Challenge and Opportunity. Additionally, as part of the Tech Against Terrorism Europe (TATE) project, we organised three successful workshops in Barcelona, Dublin, and Berlin. The workshops aimed to equip tech platforms with strategies and tools to combat extremist content online, focusing on compliance with the Terrorist Content Online (TCO) Regulation.

International acknowledgement: We were recognised by All Tech Is Human as part of their Responsible Tech Organisations List and referenced by Australian and UK officials for its efforts to combat online extremism. Adam was also appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for contributions to tackling terrorist content. 

Media awareness: In 2024, we received widespread media recognition for our impactful work addressing terrorist content online. We were featured in an interview on  BBC's The One Show. We also provided our expert insights during the Southport riots through interviews with Sky News, Times Radio, Channel 4, and BBC News.  Additionally, our Executive Director Adam Hadley authored a thought-provoking op-ed for RUSI: We need to move beyond bombs and bullets to counter terrorism. Our work also contributed to international discussions on online safety, with our insights featured in outlets including Wired, The Guardian, Voice of America, The Times and Sky News.

High-profile contributions: We shared our expertise on combating terrorist use of digital technologies at major events, including the OSCE's 17th Meeting of the Committee on Countering Terrorism (CCT), Public Safety Canada Megaweek, TrustCon 2024, and the Terrorism and Social Media Conference (TASM) among others. Highlights included addressing AI threats, presenting research on far-right propaganda, and leading a crisis response workshop at the TSPA APAC Summit in Singapore.

OUR KEY PUBLICATIONS  

• Analysis: Moscow Attack Requires Renewed and Coordinated Focus on Islamic State-Khorasan (March 2024)
• Report: Mapping Far-Right Terrorist Propaganda Online (May 2024) 
• Press Release: Southport Disturbances and Far-Right Speculation Online (July 2024)
• Press Release: Tech Platforms Urged to Act as Middle East Conflict Escalates (October 2024)
  
  

OUR WORK IN 2025    

Our 2025 Forecast will chart principal trends in terrorist and violent extremist behaviour and tactics online. It also aims to inform more comprehensive cross-industry efforts to counter terrorist exploitation of the internet. Fill out your details here to receive our briefing in January. 

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