November 29th of this year marked the official launch of the Knowledge-Sharing Platform (KSP). The KSP is a website which was developed by the Republic of Korea, CTED and the ICT4Peace Foundation in an effort against counter-terrorism online. The website includes a collection of tools and resources to support efforts of startups and small technology companies to strengthen their response to terrorist exploitation on the Internet. Through the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), major technological companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube develop technological counter-terrorism solutions, promote research and share knowledge. These solutions will then be implemented in the KSP’s Techn Against Terrorism (TaT) initiative.

Michèle Coninsx, the Executive Director of the CTED announced how through partnerships with GIFCT, startup tech companies, civil society organizations and academia will create efficiency and strengthen counter-terrorist efforts. Coninsx further stated that while the complete removal of terrorist content is not achievable, the KSA will protect the right to privacy online and offline as well as promoting a comprehensive approach to the problem.

However, many of the speakers also mentioned how the threat of terrorism is evolving online. There is a possibility that ISIL will create their own social media platform, and to counter this, specialists need to further strengthen efforts.

Subsequently, there was a presentation from Weibo representative Gu Haiyan, where cybercrime and cyber security efforts in the US were compared with those from China. Haiyan commented on how the Internet was the new bedfield of terrorism, and how social media and technology were frequently used to recruit troops, organize and direct people. Haiyan suggested a stronger implementation of anti-terrorism law, and added prohibitions on internet accounts to combat online threats.

Meeting: Launch of the Knowledge-Sharing Platform (KSP)

Date/Location: Wednesday, November 29th, 2017; 10:00-13:00; Conference Room 1, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY

Speakers: Mr. Weixiong Chen, Deputy Executive Director of CTED, Mr. Cho Tae-yul, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, Michéle Coninsx, Executive Director of CTED, Susan Molinari, Vice-President of Public Policy and Government Relations at Google, Mr. Roman Oyarzun Marchesi, Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations, Mr. Oliver Marc Zehnder, Deputy Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations, Mr. Daniel Stauffacher, President of ICT4Peace Foundation, Mr. Adam Hadley, Project Director of the ICT4Peace Foundation, Mr. Marc Porret, ICT Coordinator of CTED, Mr. Miguel Sánchez SV, Global Chief Security Officer of Telefonica, Ms. Gu Haiyan, General Legal Counsel of Weibo, Dr. Erin Marie Saltman, Policy Manager of Facebook, Dr. David Scharia, Director of CTED, Mr. Jeff Collins, Vice President of After School, Ms. Kate Hotten, EMEA Compliance Officer, Ms. Jessica Kallberg, Policy Manager at Etsy

Written By: WIT Representative June Hong