Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is pleading for help from the tech industry to combat terrorism.
In a speech Monday in Cleveland, Clinton stated that, “As president, I will work with our great tech companies from Silicon Valley to Boston to step up our game; We have to [do] a better job intercepting ISIS’ communications, tracking and analyzing social media posts and mapping jihadist networks, as well as promoting credible voices who can provide alternatives to radicalization.”
Tech companies in Silicon Valley have already met with United States agencies to discuss ways they can assist the government in combating terrorism online. Facebook has voluntarily assembled a team focused on terrorist content on its site, and is helping promote “counter speech,” which are posts that aim to discredit terror groups like Islamic State. Clinton may have alluded to Facebook’s efforts when she said that part of her proposal is to “promote credible voices who can provide alternatives to radicalization.”
Clinton proposed something she calls an “intelligence surge” to bolster efforts, saying “We already know we need more resources for this fight. The professionals who keep us safe would be the first to say we need better intelligence to discover and disrupt terrorist plots before they can be carried out.”
Companies must balance aiding the government with privacy policies and technologies that protect users and consumers. The use of encryption technology has been a hot issue recently, with Apple publicly fighting with the FBI over access to encrypted data on an iPhone used by a terrorist in San Bernardino, Calif.
It is unclear as to how tech companies could have assisted in preventing the attack in Orlando, but F.B.I. director James Comey has said the FBI is “highly confident that this killer was radicalized, and at least in some part through the Internet.”
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