Tech Against Terrorism Pledge

The Tech Against Terrorism Pledge provides simple and accessible guidelines to help even the very smallest companies understand the importance of tackling terrorist exploitation in a manner that respects human rights and freedom of speech.

Platforms signing our pledge also take part in our mentorship process and are invited to become part of the Tech Against Terrorism Network.

1. Freedom of Expression

“We respect the right to freedom of expression that should be enjoyed by our users and will take actions consistent with applicable law to protect it from unlawful or unnecessary restrictions.”

Article 19 of the ICCPR provides that “1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. 2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. 3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may, therefore, be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (order public), or of public health or morals.”
2. Non-Discrimination and Diversity

“We respect the right of our users to express diverse views and opinions, and commit to educating users regarding what content and expression is not permitted on our platforms through clear terms of service and their transparent and consistent application.”

Article 24 of the ICCPR states that “All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.” Article 15 of the ICESCR recognizes the rights of everyone to take part in cultural life.
3. Privacy

“We respect the privacy of all our users and will take actions consistent with applicable law to protect it from arbitrary or unlawful interference.”

UNDHR Article 12 and ICCPR Article 17 states “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”

4. Transparency and Accountability

“We appreciate the need to account for what content we deem impermissible on our platforms, how we address government requests related to content on our platforms, and how we make determinations about content. To this end, we value and strive for transparency regarding those policies and practices, especially with regard to how they may impact the above – mentioned human rights – principles.”

Guiding Principle 21 articulates an expectation that companies will account for how they address human rights and the commentary further explains that this “requires that business enterprises have in place policies and processes through which they can both know and show that they respect human rights in practice. Showing involves communication, providing a measure of transparency and accountability to individuals or groups who may be impacted and to other relevant stakeholders, including investors.”
5. Remedy

“While we strive to apply content policies fairly and consistently, we recognise that resource limitations, cultural contexts, and other factors may result in decisions that unintentionally cause negative impacts. To address this eventuality, we commit to devising appropriate mechanisms to allow individuals impacted by our policies and practices to bring information to our attention.”

Guiding Principle 20 states: “To make it possible for grievances to be addressed early and remediated directly, business enterprises should establish or participate in effective operational-level grievance mechanisms for individuals and communities who may be adversely impacted.”
6. Collaboration

“We commit to work with partner organisations and enter prises to collaboratively develop strategies to keep our platforms and products safe from abuse by terrorist organisations and their supporters, and to promote tolerance, coexistence and diversity.”

Article 19 of the ICCPR states that the exercise of freedom of expression carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may, therefore, be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security or of public order of public health or morals.S/RES/1624 (2005) calls upon States to prohibit by law incitement to commit a terrorist act and S/RES/2354 (2017) condemns “in the strongest terms the incitement of terrorist acts” and repudiates “attempts at the justification or glorification of terrorist acts that may incite further terrorist acts.”S/RES/2354 (2017) further stresses the importance of the role of the business community “in efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding, and in promoting tolerance and coexistence, and in fostering an environment which is not conducive to incitement of terrorism, as well as in countering terrorist narratives.” It urges further development of initiatives to strengthen public-private partnerships in this area and notes the benefits of engagement, with a wide range of actors, including youth, families, women, community leaders, and other concerned groups of civil society.

Background

Tackling the increased exploitation of information and communication technologies for terrorist and violent extremist purposes can easily threaten human rights. The rights to freedom of expression and privacy are at particular risk of being compromised in the practice of online counterterrorism. However, preventing online harms and protecting human rights need not be in conflict, but can instead be complementary and mutually reinforcing objectives.

Tech Against Terrorism has identified six foundational principles (together comprising the Tech Against Terrorism Pledge) which inform our approach and underpin our engagement with the very smallest technology companies. These principles emphasise the importance of addressing challenging content while supporting small tech companies to articulate their commitment to defending human rights and the expressive diversity of their userbase and to do so transparently, accountably, and collaboratively.

The Tech Against Terrorism Pledge complements the Global Network Initiative (GNI) Principles by providing a simple and accessible commitment capable of adoption by the very smallest companies. The pledge is designed to ensure that small companies – who often do not have enough resources to familiarise themselves with the myriad regulatory and contextual factors which may affect their services – can contribute to an online environment that is both free and safe. The pledge is a programmatic statement and a foundation on which companies can build systems, devise policies, and established practices that are relevant to them. Corporate subscriptions to the pledge should be understood as an ambition intended to be fulfilled quickly and thoroughly to the extent that resources and scale allow.

Our pledge takes its cue from both the GNI Principles and the international standards established in the following multilateral declarations. These normative precepts provide a framework to help technology companies tackle exploitation of their services in a manner that promotes and protects human rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
UN Security Council resolutions and documents:
- S/RES/1624 (2005)
- S/RES/2129 (2013)
- S/RES/2322 (2016)
- S/RES/2354 (2017)
- S/2017/375
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UN Guiding Principles”).

The Tech Against Terrorism Pledge

Principles committed to disrupting terrorism and violent extremism online while upholding human rights.

Six Guiding Principles

1. Freedom of Expression

2. Non-Discrimination and Diversity

3. Privacy

4. Transparency and Accountability

5. Remedy

6. Collaboration

Background

Mentorship

Tech Against Terrorism

Solutions

News and Reports

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