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On Oct 31, 2017, @selectedwisdom and I testified during the @senjudiciary hearing focused on extremist content and Russian disinformation campaigns on social media. As the hearing concluded, @LindseyGrahamSC asked if we are prepared to address these issues...
I noted in reply to his questions that the capabilities exist, but are not being utilized. Not too many days later, @YouTube highlighted what I was referring to by rapidly identifying and scrubbing virtually all content featuring guidance from al-Qa’ida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki...
There are myriad other capabilities that can be applied by major social media companies to identify and disrupt extremists’ exploitations of their platforms to radicalize people in manners which can have the effect of encouraging them to perpetrate violent crimes...
Facebook’s resistance to requests to collaborate with FBI on identifying threats shouldn’t come as a surprise. They are following in the footsteps of Twitter. In 2016, I was the lead source for this @WSJ story about similarly-spirited moves at Twitter wsj.com/articles/twitt…
During that Oct 2017 @senjudiciary hearing, I pointed to one way social media companies could do more to deter terrorists, extremists, and a wide range of illicit actors from exploiting their tech, as highlighted in this @nytimes column by @jimrutenberg nytimes.com/2017/11/05/bus…
I also mentioned that approach to helping disrupt terrorists’ efforts to radicalize, recruit and incite violence on social media platforms while discussing the terrorist attack which occurred during the hearing in New York that night with @donlemon snappytv.com/tc/6212948
Just after another Islamic State-linked terrorist attack months prior to that hearing, I also discuss this proposed approach to disrupting radicalization, recruitment and incitement on social media platforms in a piece published by @ForeignAffairs
Weeks prior to that Oct 31, 2017 @senjudiciary hearing, I also participated in a small closed briefing focused on the issue of terrorists’ exploitations of social media tech that was organized by @LindseyGrahamSC, and attended by @SenFeinstein and @SenWhitehouse...
During that briefing, in which I sat on a panel alongside Facebook and Twitter reps, I noted that allowing only verified users to access their accounts when using VPNs to mask their physical locations would be an easy thing for these companies to do to disrupt illicit activities.
At one point, @LindseyGrahamSC piped up and said he’d introduce legislation to try to require companies like Facebook to take such measures if another terrorist attack was perpetrated in the US by someone who was clearly consuming terrorist groups’ online propaganda. Well...
During that Oct 2017 @senjudiciary hearing that was chaired by @LindseyGrahamSC, in my opening remarks, I noted Islamic State members’ and supporters’ comments on Telegram about the attack in NY that occurred during the hearing suggested there may be a link to the group...
During a presser soon after this terrorist attack, @TheJusticeDept officials noted a cell phone belonging to the perpetrator, Sayfullo Saipov, contained a large amount of Islamic State propaganda. Despite this, @LindseyGrahamSC has not done what he said he would do. Here’s why...
As I noted in my written testimony for that @senjudiciary hearing, during a conference call with me re these issues the National Security Council staffer who drafted the Trump admin’s National Security Strategy noted Trump is averse to imposing regulations on the private sector.
While that NSC staffer noted what I was proposing made sense, she reminded me candidate Trump’s campaign platform was intensely focused on cutting regulations on private companies. Thus it was unlikely what I recommended would be reflected in the final National Security Strategy.
So, if you’re wondering why Trump, who talked such a big game about defeating ISIS while campaigning, has done little to push companies like Facebook to do more to disrupt terrorists’ and violent extremists’ exploitations of their tech to incite violence, the answer is: Fear...
Donald Trump is afraid of being painted as a president who introduced regulations on an industry that remains largely self-regulated, despite the threats to national security arising from terrorists’ and extremist elements’ persistent exploitations of social media companies’ tech
In addition to my remarks, written testimony, and answers to questions for the record from @SenFeinstein @amyklobuchar @ChrisCoons for that @senjudiciary hearing here judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/extre…, you can find some of my other ideas in this @lawfareblog piece lawfareblog.com/president-trum…
