Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    YouTube, Facebook Using Automated Software to Remove Extremist Content

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    June 28, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      extremist content

      YouTube and Facebook have begun using automated processes to block and quickly remove terrorist propaganda videos, Reuters reported June 25, citing two people familiar with the situation.

      Until now, human editors have reviewed flagged content and removed it as they deemed necessary; the automated process can react far more quickly and effectively.

      The companies aren’t commenting on the change, which the report said was encouraged by an April group phone call that included Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of global policy management. She proposed a number of options for discussion, including one developed by the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit group that years ago developed software with the initial aim of identifying and removing online child pornography.

      Hany Farid, a senior advisor for the Counter Extremism Project and a computer science professor at Dartmouth College, helped to develop the software and discussed it on MSNBC’s Morning Joe June 23, explaining that it recognizes “hashes” that comprise the so-called DNA of a video. While manually removing content has been likened to a game of “Whack-a-Mole”—it’s removed only to pop up again somewhere else—the hashes enable an algorithm to identify each individual video and block it from ever appearing again.

      “It works fully automatically, it’s efficient, it’s accurate and it allows technology companies to effectively enforce what is already place, which is their terms of service, that this content is not allowed on their network,” said Farid. “We are simply creating for them a mechanism to enforce that in an automatic, efficient and accurate way.”

      Farid said he’d welcome the government’s intervention as an “honest broker,” helping to bring together more parties—such as academics and nongovernmental organizations—to create a greater sense of urgency around the problem.

      “But at the end of the day,” added Farid, “the technology companies have to decide we no longer want this content on our network. It is harmful for the network, it is harmful for society, and it is harmful for the world.”

      Pushback against the technology comes from those who fear a slippery slope into further censorship—the exact concern that was voiced when the technology was first proposed as a solution to identify and remove child pornography, Farid said.

      Facebook, which recently defended itself against accusations that it promotes politically biased content, was initially cautious of the automated process, according to reports.

      “We are talking about taking off videos that show violent beheadings. That show calls to violence. … The worst of the worst. We absolutely should have dissent on the Internet. We should absolutely have discussion on the Internet. But there is no place, in my mind, of pictures or videos of young children being sexually assaulted or of people having their heads chopped off. I think that’s where we reasonably can draw the line,” Farid insisted.

      Twitter did not respond to a respond to a request for comment, but according to Reuters, it is still evaluating the Counter Extremism Project’s software and “has not yet taken a position.”

      In May, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Microsoft were among a group of technology companies that signed a Code of Conduct released by the European Commission and EU member states in an effort to curb online hate speech and violent extremism.

      “Social media is unfortunately one of the tools that terrorist groups use to radicalize young people and racist use to spread violence and hatred,” Vĕra Jourová, EU commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, said in a May 31 statement. “This agreement is an important step forward to ensure that the Internet remains a place of free and democratic expression, where European values and laws are respected.”

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×