MSFT Microsoft Corporation

By Farnaz Fassihi (917 655 4300) 

UNITED NATIONS -- A senior Microsoft executive said Wednesday that technology companies face a daunting challenge in stopping terrorists from accessing online platforms, as they need to respect free-speech rights even as they try to eliminate hate messages.

"There is no silver bullet that will stop terrorist use of the Internet, " Steven Crown, vice president and deputy general counsel of Microsoft, told a United Nations Security Council special meeting on countering terrorists' ideology. "We know that there are tens of thousands terrorist Internet accounts that refuse to die. As one is taken down, another quickly springs up in its place."

Mr. Crown pointed to the successful partnerships between tech companies and governments on cracking down on child-sex-abuse material globally as an example of how the tech industry can assist governments in pursuing shared goals.

However, he said tech companies' policing of terrorist ideology on online platforms was hamstrung by the fact that there is no universal definition of what constitutes a terrorist group.

Since Islamic State emerged in Iraq and Syria, the extremist group has put the Internet and social media at the center of its strategy for recruiting disenchanted youth in Muslim countries and in both Europe and the U.S. The group has promoted its message through Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, in multiple languages. According to the U.N., some 30,000 people world-wide have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join Islamic State since its inception.

Wednesday's special meeting was held to develop an international framework for fighting terrorism that would foster partnerships between governments, civil society, religious institutes and tech companies. U.N. member states approved a council statement citing their concerns about the ability of terrorist groups to exploit digital technologies to recruit members and misrepresent religion to justify violence.

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power warned member states against using the fight against terrorism as a cover to suppress dissident voices on the Internet and social media. Many countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran routinely arrest and prosecute journalists and activists critical of the regime, citing national security and terrorism concerns.

"Legal action is a critical tool in the campaign against ISIL but it must not be wielded like a cudgel against those who voice unpopular speech or criticize authorities," Ms. Power told the Council, using another name for the extremist group. "Such behavior doesn't prevent violent extremism, it fuels it."

While she didn't single out any country, her comments appeared to be aimed at Egypt, which has branded the Islamist party Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group and recently handed down death sentences in absentia to journalists working for Al Jazeera on allegations their reporting sympathized with the group.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who chaired the meeting, said afterward that Ms. Power's comments were counterproductive and detracted from the focus that the international community must place on terrorist groups.

"We uphold freedom of expression, we uphold freedom of journalism," he said, speaking of the Egyptian government.

Mohi el-Din Afifi, secretary-general of Al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy in Cairo, told the Council that the academy has established a digital center to monitor Islamic State's online activity. The center will also counter the extremist group's religious edicts, known as fatwas, and refute their extreme interpretation of Islam. It was also training clerics to denounce extremism and preach on the importance of abiding by local laws.

Mr. Afifi remarked that even Islamic leaders face the wrath of extremists online. Islamic State recently called for the murder of eleven Imams and scholars who were countering their ideological narrative online.

"Their ideas are not based on real jurisprudence," Mr. Afifi said. "These organizations exploit virtual world and market terrorism."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2016 23:23 ET (03:23 GMT)

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