Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism

gifct.org

The mission of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) is to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms. Founded by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube in 2017, the Forum was designed to foster technical collaboration among member companies, advance relevant research, and share knowledge with smaller platforms. Since 2017, GIFCT’s membership has expanded beyond the founding companies to include over a dozen diverse platforms committed to cross-industry efforts to counter the spread of terrorist and violent extremist content online. These efforts have evolved in conjunction with the Christchurch Call to Action, a nine-point plan that governments, tech platforms, and civil society organizations committed to after the March 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand and viral spread of the perpetrator’s live-streamed video of the attack. At an UNGA side event led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron in September 2019, the founding companies announced that GIFCT would spin off as an independent 501(c)(3) with its own dedicated technology, counterterrorism, and operations teams. Four foundational goals guide the newly independent organization’s work: Empower a broad range of technology companies, independently and collectively, with processes and tools to prevent and respond to abuse of their platforms by terrorists and violent extremists Enable multi-stakeholder engagement around terrorist and violent extremist misuse of the Internet and encourage stakeholders to meet key commitments consistent with the GIFCT mission Promote civil dialogue online and empower efforts to direct positive alternatives to the messages of terrorists and violent extremists Advance broad understanding of terrorist and violent extremist operations and their evolution, including the intersection of online and offline activities.