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Current US President Joe Biden was inaugurated two weeks after violent riots broke out in the US Capitol to prevent a peaceful transition of power. Making hate, violent extremism and domestic terrorism a national priority was nothing more than a starting point.

In March last year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence A Clear public warning Many attackers “often radicalize themselves by feeding off extremists,” citing the threat of homegrown violent extremism, which makes disruption difficult.
In May 2021, the State Dept announced After the Trump administration’s refusal, the United States will “regularly join those working together under the call to prevent terrorist and violent extremist content from using the Internet” in Christchurch’s call to remove terrorist and violent extremist content online.
In June 2021, the White House a National strategy To stop the “abuse of Internet-based communication platforms to recruit others to violence,” to prevent domestic terrorism, pledging to work with a variety of partners, “particularly in the technology sector.”
This summer, President Biden gave Speech In Philadelphia, he called out right-wing extremists, especially those “who fan the flames of political violence that threaten our personal rights, to uphold justice, to uphold the rule of law, to teach the soul of this country.” He said.

At the United We Stand event at the White House on Thursday, the Biden administration announced a series of new efforts by government, civil society and business to “address the devastating effects of hate-based violence on our democracy and public safety, mobilize communities and communities across the country to respond to these threats, and provide a common response to these threats.” , offered a comprehensive, bipartisan vision for a more united America. It was the event. announced Ambassador Susan Rice, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, in August.

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The role of technology in hate-based violence

While the conference did not include a session focused on the role of technology platforms in combating hate and violence, the White House did include some of the technology platforms’ efforts to address these issues when announcing new initiatives.

The expansion of YouTube’s policies to combat violent extremism, “including a commitment to remove content that glorifies acts of violence with the intent to harm, raise funds, or recruit others, even if the creators are not affiliated with a designated terrorist group.” ”, as well as a media literacy program “to help young consumers, in particular, identify the various deception techniques used to spread misinformation” and “to encourage college students to develop their own flexible products, tools or initiatives to prevent targeted attacks.” terrorism”
A pledge from Microsoft to “expand efforts to help students, families and teachers build empathy for youth using violence detection and prevention using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools and games” and on the Minecraft game platform And you’ll learn ways to build a better and safer online and offline world.
A new initiative from Meta, which runs Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, includes a research partnership with “tools from Middlebury’s Institute for International Studies to analyze trends in terrorism, extremism and counter-terrorism, and help communities respond.” and a series of “Trainings, Workshops and Skills Building to Equip Community-Based Partners with Tools to Amplify Their Work to Prevent Hate-Based Violence.”
A new tool from Twitch, which has been involved in recent hate attacks such as the recent mass shooting in a black community in Buffalo, says the company will “help prevent hate and harassment and help the community become more personal.” New community education initiatives on topics including identifying information and preventing hate crime.

The White House called the announcements “a step to recognize the important role companies can play in designing their products and platforms to prevent the spread of hate speech, both online and offline.”

The joint announcement suggests that the White House has had some modest success in its efforts to engage Silicon Valley on domestic extremism and hate. While the summit highlighted cooperation with the tech sector, the administration promised more fundamental reforms to address the industry’s incentives and business models. Thursday announcements will come after the announcement Six principles Focused on antitrust reform to “enhance competition and accountability of the technology platform”; Privacy Protections; protection of children; Eliminating the special statutory protections in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that shield companies from liability even when they host or distribute illegal, offensive activity or material. Increase transparency; and safeguards to stop “biased algorithmic decision-making.”

In short, the management approach is multifaceted. Some priorities, however, require legislative action. Congress has yet to pass any significant technology reforms, a point emphasized by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Testimony Former head of Twitter security The whisper changed Peter Zatko Tuesday. “This is probably our 50th ability … between business and the judiciary,” said Senator Klobuchar, “and we haven’t passed a single bill on competition, on privacy, when it’s better than the United States Senate.” Funding child protection agencies.

Before the good, the bad and the ugly

While Thursday’s announcement drew a fair amount of positive buzz, it came a few hours after Wednesday’s controversy Hearing Top executives from Meta, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on “The Impact of Social Media on Homeland Security.”

“We’ve seen how quickly dangerous and extremist content spreads online, especially to vulnerable communities or users at the fringes, and how people view the world, conspiracies like QAnon and Stop the Steal, hate ideologies like white supremacy and anti-Semitism. Chairman Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) in remarks at the hearing. “The Christchurch shooter who killed 51 people and inspired the Poway and El Paso shootings was a fanatic on YouTube and live-streamed his attack on Facebook to inspire others to his cause. Three years later, a shooter in Buffalo, New York, tweeted his attack. He posted it on Facebook, which quickly took it down, but the video soon went viral on Facebook.

Tech executives have defended their records by citing strict policies against violent and extremist content on their platforms. “I want to make it clear that there is no place for violent extremist content on YouTube,” said Neil Mohan, YouTube’s chief product officer. Meta’s counterpart, Chris Cox, pointed to several experts the company employs as well as violent extremists working with law enforcement. Jay Sullivan, Twitter’s head of consumer products, said his company has promised to “delay or stop product releases if we have health or safety concerns.”

Each of the platforms has indicated a willingness to work with outside researchers to assess the impact in general, but when it comes to specific disclosures outside of their own transparency reports, the answer is perhaps less straightforward. One particularly pointed question came from Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), who asked how many of MetaCox’s users express content that advocates hate speech, an image that shows the platform’s role in spreading the word. Cox apparently promised to reveal the figure following the hearing. Senator Padilla asked Tik Tok Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas whether the company could be more transparent about how long it takes to address infringing content, other than the 88% figure it says is removed in less than 24 hours. She promises to return to him.

On the subject, when asked by Senator Peters, Meta Cox seemed unaware. Research According to the Tech Transparency Project, an advocacy organization, Facebook has created pages directly for white supremacists and groups, and Facebook wants ads for black churches from groups whose names include the phrase “Ku Klux Klan.” Senator Peters asked Cox for “written comments” on the question after the hearing.

The beating continues

It remains to be seen whether the administration’s efforts to use the carrot and the stick to counter hate and violent extremism at the Kajol tech factories will reduce the problem’s online profile to acceptable levels. Of course, these phenomena are not primarily caused by technology; Therefore, it is appropriate for technology-related startups to disclose. The United We Stand Summit featured discussions with faith leaders, local leaders and survivors of hate-based violence, and a broad range of federal initiatives, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Attorney General Merrick Garland. President Biden is expected to make a major speech this afternoon.

However, it is important to focus on the role of technology companies. Observers can expect more announcements by tech companies related to tackling violent extremist content online at the Christchurch call. SummitIt was co-hosted by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron with the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 20. Of course, such announcements now come regularly, little more predictable than the violent events they provoke.