Some big names in tech are contributing to a significant initiative to push back against terror activities worldwide, and Zoom (ZM) has just been added to that list.
Elizabeth Culliford reports today at Reuters that Zoom will join a group called the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) that was created in 2017 after European attacks, to keep tabs on impending terrorist activity.
The group list, according to Culliford, now includes 18 companies, including Meta (formerly known as Facebook) and Microsoft.
The parties have access to a hash sharing database that helps them to look for suspicious activity. Proponents of the group say that the GIFCT will, among other things, help with combating the practice of “zoom-bombing,” where hackers inject hate speech or other objectionable behavior into platform sessions.
“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 press 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.”
The GIFCT’s Independent Advisory Committee further explains the group’s mandate this way:
“The mission of Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) is to prevent terrorist and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms. We believe that by working together and sharing technological and operational elements of our individual efforts, GIFCT members can have a greater impact on decreasing the threat of terrorist and violent extremist activity online.”
While some Redditors and others in the peanut gallery are less pleased with the general thrust of the program, advocates of this kind of law enforcement see it as the duty of tech platforms to participate.
You may see the results in market activity around these enormous firms that count for such a large portion of U.S. stock growth.
