Extremists
Latest
Facebook accused of shielding far-right activists who broke its rules
An upcoming documentary reportedly reveals that Facebook has been protecting far-right activists, even though they would normally have been banned over rule violations. UK's Channel 4's documentary series Dispatches sent a reporter undercover and found toxic content, including graphic violence, child abuse and hate speech that moderators from Facebook contractor CPL refused to ban. Facebook admitted that it made mistakes with regard to content moderation, but denied that it sought to profit from the extreme content.
Google vows to pull ads from extreme videos and sites
Google has detailed new safeguards to ensure brands don't have their adverts served against extremist content. The measures follow a wave of complaints and advertising withdrawals by the UK government, Audi and L'Oreal, among others, triggered by a Times investigation which revealed a number of adverts being shown alongside harmful and inappropriate videos on YouTube. In a blog post, Google said it would be taking "a tougher stance" and "removing ads more effectively" from content that is attacking people based on their race, religion or gender. It also promised to hire "significant numbers" of new staff to review "questionable content."
UK ISPs will enlist the help of customers to flag extremist content
In its mission to keep us safe from extreme content, the British government has persuaded the UK's largest ISPs to add a "public reporting button" for their customers. BT, Virgin, Sky and TalkTalk have all agreed to the idea in principle, but they're yet to share how it'll actually be implemented. The new button should, in theory, lift some of the burden away from the authorities and encourage more people to flag radicalising material. Every week, the UK's Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit pulls 1,000 items from the web that breach the 2006 Terrorism Act; enlisting the public will increase the number of eyeballs they have scouring the web and should shorten the time it takes to remove infringing content.
German police may use a song recognition app to fight neo-Nazi music
Song recognition apps like Shazam primarily exist to name catchy tunes on the radio, but Germany could soon use one to fight crime. Police in the state of Saxony have developed a smartphone app that identifies neo-Nazi music playing at social events or through internet radio stations. The software would help officials bust those violating national laws that limit access to far-right music. It's not certain that you'll see German cops bringing out their smartphones at extremist rallies, however. The country's interior ministers are discussing the app's viability this week, but Germany's existing laws on acoustic surveillance could heavily restrict its use. [Image credit: AP Photo/Markus Schreiber]
