Fact:
On May 8, 2019, Taliban insurgents detonated an explosive-laden vehicle and then broke into American NGO Counterpart International’s offices in Kabul. At least seven people were killed and 24 were injured.
Throughout 2018, the tech industry experienced controversy after controversy, and companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter were finally forced to apologize for their failures. But as the tech giants continued to hide behind their empty promises to improve privacy protections, remove extremist and terrorist material, and halt the spread of misinformation, everyone else suffered the consequences – from data breaches to incitement to terrorism and genocide.
“Americans have witnessed tech’s spectacular failure to prevent widespread misuses of its sites by terrorists, hostile state actors and others,” said Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Executive Director David Ibsen. “As the new year begins, policymakers will need to grapple with the important fact that tech’s behavior has been unacceptable, and that sensible regulation is an inevitable consequence of the tech sector’s growth and impact on society. The negative externalities of tech – notably terrorist attacks that have occurred with links to social media and/or extremist online content – have made it clear that the threat to public safety and security is too great to continue to permit ‘self-regulation’ of the tech industry.”
As the 116th Congress commences, CEP will continue calling attention to the ways extremists manipulate social media, while holding technology companies accountable for their inaction and half-measures.
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On May 8, 2019, Taliban insurgents detonated an explosive-laden vehicle and then broke into American NGO Counterpart International’s offices in Kabul. At least seven people were killed and 24 were injured.
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