Tech Giants Create Database for Terrorist Content

• Dec 06, 2016

Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and Google’s YouTube say they will set up a shared database to help them track and remove, “violent terrorist imagery or terrorist recruitment videos.”

We're partnering with industry peers to help curb the spread of terrorist content online https://t.co/O2Gp8i0GWT

— Policy (@policy) December 5, 2016

The database will contain the digital footprints of the images and videos, which will allow these tech platforms to identify potential terrorist content more efficiently, the companies said in a statement on Monday, December 5.  

The companies will start by adding into the database videos and images they have already removed from their platforms. The companies can then compare the content and see if the same video or image showed up on multiple platforms. They can also use the content on one platform to search for similar content on another.

Moving forward, each company will determine which images and videos need to be shared to the database as well as keep their respective opinions on transparency with the government if any review requests should arise.

The statement notes that as the database begins to grow, the tech firms will look into expanding it to other companies.