DUBAI: Video-conferencing platform Zoom has joined a counterterrorism organization formed by major US tech companies including Meta Platforms Inc, formerly known as Facebook, and Microsoft Corp, the group said on Wednesday.
The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) is an independent group through which member companies share information to combat terrorism and violent extremism on their sites.
Zoom Video Communications Inc, which saw usage explode during the COVID-19 pandemic but has faced slowing growth in recent months, has come under scrutiny over how to police content and abuses on its platform.
GIFCT’s founding members were Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Alphabet’s YouTube.
Its membership has risen to 18 companies with five new platforms joining this year including home-rental firm Airbnb, social network Tumblr and online publishing platform WordPress. It said it plans for more in 2022.
Tech companies have long been criticized for failing to curb violent extremist activity on their platforms, though they also face concerns over free expression.
GIFCT was created in 2017 under pressure from US and European governments after a series of deadly attacks in Paris and Brussels.
It manages a hash-sharing database, where member companies can share “hashes,” unique numerical representations of original pieces of content that have been removed from their services. Other companies can use these hashes to identify the same content on their sites and review or remove the material.
“It is our responsibility to support our users and protect them against online threats,” Josh Parecki, Zoom’s associate general counsel for trust and safety, said in a statement.
“By collaborating with other leaders across the industry, sharing key learnings and advancing research, we aspire to make the digital world a safer place for all.”
As individuals and companies turned to video-conferencing apps during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, Zoom faced high-profile content moderation issues.
These ranged from abuses like “zoombombing,” where uninvited users crashed others’ calls to share hate speech and racist, violent or pornographic content, to decisions like its cancelation of a virtual event featuring Leila Khaled, a member of a Palestinian group on the US State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.
GIFCT Executive Director Nicholas Rasmussen said in a statement it was delighted to add Zoom as its mission “requires we work with a diverse range of companies ...to develop cross-platform solutions that render terrorists and violent extremists ineffective across the Internet.”
GIFCT has faced criticism from some human and digital rights advocates over centralized or over-broad censorship, and calls for greater transparency.
In July, the organization expanded the scope of its hash-sharing database to include attacker manifestos and other publications and URLs flagged by the United Nations initiative Tech Against Terrorism. It also said it would continue to broaden the database to include hashes of audio files or certain symbols.
GIFCT also said on Wednesday it has designed a new membership structure based on company revenue, with suggested annual contributions ranging from $0 to $1 million. It said membership was not contingent on a company’s revenue.
Other members include Meta’s Instagram and WhatsApp, Pinterest, Amazon.com, chat platform Discord and file-sharing service Dropbox. Other companies such as Reddit and Snapchat-owner Snap can also access the hash-sharing database.
Zoom has joined tech industry counterterrorism group
https://arab.news/4hzeh
Zoom has joined tech industry counterterrorism group
- Zoom Video Communications Inc has come under scrutiny over how to police content and abuses on its platform
- Tech companies have long been criticized for failing to curb violent extremist activity on their platforms
Israel says ban on Gaza media access should stay: court document
- Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons
JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons, according to a government submission filed by the public prosecutor.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Instead, Israel has allowed only a limited number of reporters to enter Gaza on a case-by-case basis, embedded with its military forces inside the blockaded territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition with the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking immediate and unrestricted access for international media to the Gaza Strip.
Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with a plan, but at a hearing last month it set January 4 as a final deadline.
Late on Sunday, the Israeli authorities filed their response with the court, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
In the submission, the government said the ban on media access to Gaza should continue, citing security risks in the territory.
“Even at this time, entry of journalists into the Gaza Strip without escort, as requested in the petition, should not be permitted,” said the government submission.
“This is for security reasons, based on the position of the defense establishment, which maintains that a security risk associated with such entry still exists.”
The Israeli authorities said the ceasefire in Gaza, which came into effect on October 10, continues to face regular threats.
At least 420 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The Israeli military said three of its soldiers have also been killed by militants during the same period.
The Israeli authorities said in their submission that the search for the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza is ongoing, suggesting that allowing journalists into the territory at this stage could hinder the operation.
The remains of Ran Gvili, whose body was taken to Gaza after he was killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, have still not been recovered despite the ceasefire.
All other 250 hostages seized on that day — both the living and the deceased — have been returned to Israel.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the matter, though it is unclear when a decision will be handed down.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.
