Dr. Farid Explains How Terror Groups Have Been Abusing Online Platforms
(New York, N.Y.) - The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) today released the first of a nine-part video series featuring CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid, the Albert Bradley 1915 Third Century Professor of Computer Science at Dartmouth College and incoming School of Information and EECS professor at UC Berkeley. Each video will feature in-depth analysis by Dr. Farid on different aspects of the problem of online extremism and how the tech industry can address it. Beginning with this week’s video, "Intro," they will be released on a weekly basis.
“For years, Dr. Farid has been at the forefront of the battle against online extremism, transforming and shaping the conversation in the process,” said CEP CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace. “His work now and in the future will be critical to stopping the misuse of social media by extremists to spread terror, incite violence, and proliferate propaganda.”
In “Intro,” Dr. Farid explains the reality that tech companies are “being abused and leveraged by terror groups to radicalize, recruit, plan and execute terror attacks around the world.” By developing software such as eGLYPH, Dr. Farid and CEP are showing to tech companies, regulators, and the public at large that there is existing technology available to stop the proliferation of online extremist content.
Dr. Hany Farid is a world recognized leader in digital forensics. Working with CEP, he developed eGLYPH, a robust hashing technology capable of identifying and quickly removing previously identified violent extremist images, video and audio from the Internet and social media platforms. He previously developed the technology, in use today, that prevents images of child exploitation from being uploaded and shared online.
Please find a transcript for “Intro” below:
“The Counter Extremism Project is a not-for-profit organization that deals with issues of extremism and terrorism around the world. We develop technology to monitor and disrupt terror activity online. Technology platforms are being abused and leveraged by terror groups to radicalize, recruit, plan and execute terror attacks around the world and we are dedicated to trying to disrupt those activities because the Internet has created this incredible reach for these organizations that is unprecedented and we want to harness all of the power of technology while limiting the types of abuses and harm that we are seeing. We developed technology to prove to the technology companies, to prove to regulators, to prove to the public that, in fact, we can develop and deploy technology to disrupt terror groups online.”