Violence and Security

Internet Platforms Ramp up Removal of "Hate Speech"

January 22, 2018

Reuters reports on EU monitoring that indicates social media companies are removing two-thirds of "hate speech" reported by users of their platforms within 24 hours, as European Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova touts the EU's "soft law" approach over a German model imposing fines on companies that fail to act quickly enough on such speech.
US Inquiry Reveals Hezbollah Financing in Western Hemisphere

January 22, 2018

The US Attorney General’s unfolding inquiry into the failures of Project Cassandra, an interagency task force mandated to combat the financing mechanisms used by the Islamist group Hezbollah, is revealing analysis of how the capacity for global jihadi Islamism is deeply linked to transnational criminal activities with robust networks throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Details Emerge from IS Plot to Blow up Statue of Liberty

January 22, 2018

Court documents publicly released in advance of next month’s sentencing of two New Yorkers convicted of an Islamic State (IS) plot to blow up the Statue of Liberty reveal IS's focus on jihadist networking and activities targeting New York, as well as the continued push to weaponize easily available items such as pressure cookers for Islamist terrorism.
Boko Haram Launches New Attack in Niger

January 19, 2018

Militant Islamist group Boko Haram is suspected of perpetrating yet another suicide attack in Niger with both military and civilian casualties, sustaining the group’s efforts to impose an Islamic caliphate in West Africa.
Companies Vigorously Apply German "Hate Speech" Law

January 18, 2018

The Economist reports that social media companies are broadly applying Germany's "NetzDG" law requiring them to speedily remove "illegal hate speech" from their platforms or face stiff penalties, showing the complications of defining sweeping terms as companies take down content including satirical articles and criticism of anti-migrant sentiment.
Branson Orders Virgin Trains to Restock "Rightwing" Newspaper

January 18, 2018

CNBC reports that Virgin Trains owner Richard Branson has told the company to stock The Daily Mail on its trains after the company faced broad pressure for banning the distribution of the UK newspaper due to the "rightwing" views of its editorials on migration, LGBT rights, and unemployment.
ECJ Receives Case on Facebook's Duty to Remove "Hate Speech"

January 18, 2018

The Register reports that the Austrian Supreme Court has asked the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) to determine whether EU law forces tech giant Facebook to actively search for and remove from its global platform "hate speech" posted by users.
EU Group Considers Measures Against "Fake News"

January 17, 2018

The Associated Press reports that the European Commission's High-Level Group on identifying and addressing so-called "fake news" in Europe, with members from civil society, internet companies, the media, and academia, held its first meeting this week and will issue recommendations in April on how to combat the phenomenon.
Pakistan Releases "Father of the Taliban" from Prison

January 17, 2018

Pakistani authorities justified on humanitarian grounds the release from prison of the 93-year-old radical Islamic cleric known as the “Father of the Taliban” in Swat, despite the legendary radical Islamist’s unrenounced commitment to fight for the imposition of sharia law in the geopolitically important Southwest Asian nation.
IS Uses Black Markets in Iraq, Syria to Spur Resurgence

January 17, 2018

Islamic State (IS) actors are penetrating a broad range of sectors in the black-market economies in Iraq and Syria to rebuild the financial resources that can enable a military resurgence of the Islamist terror group’s caliphate operations.