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The federal government has partnered with the Online Harms Foundation for “24/7 crisis response capability” to fight harmful online content.
The Albanese government has announced a new around-the-clock monitoring capacity to track and report extremist- and terrorist-related content online.
Working with the Australian arm of Tech Against Terrorism, the Online Harms Foundation, the government’s new capability is a first-of-its-kind initiative that will provide Australia and the entire Indo-Pacific region with dedicated, global online monitoring capacity of “terrorists and violent extremists who use the internet to glorify and instruct in acts of terror”.
This new monitoring capability will allow for urgent referrals of terrorist and extremist content to the eSafety Commissioner.
The government believes this capability will provide a “significant contribution” to the Christchurch Call, a global initiative to limit the spread of extremist and terrorist content online. The Call is named after a 2019 terrorist attack that took place in the New Zealand city of Christchurch that saw 51 people murdered.
The attack was streamed live online.
Tech Against Terrorism works with governments and tech companies around the world to fight online extremism after its launch by the United Nations in 2016. According to its website, Tech Against Terrorism’s “work revolves around threat intelligence, technical innovation, and policy advice”.
Tony Burke, Minister for Home Affairs, said in a statement that the “Australian government takes our obligation to protect Australians from online harm seriously”.
“By partnering with Tech Against Terrorism, we are taking a proactive step to help address the threat of online radicalisation and terrorism here in Australia and in our region,” Minister Burke said.
“This collaboration will help us strengthen our national security measures and protect our digital space from the spread of terrorist content, wherever in the world it originates.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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