Four of the globe’s largest tech firms have launched the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in a bid to stop the spread of terrorism and violent extremism.

The forum was formed by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube and builds on existing initiatives such as the EU Internet Forum and conclusions reached during the G7 and European Council meetings.

“The spread of terrorism and violent extremism is a pressing global problem and a critical challenge for us all,” Twitter wrote in a blog. The social network goes on to say that the firms involved in the forum believe that by pooling resources they can “have a greater impact on the threat of terrorist content online.”

At first the forum’s work will focus on three key areas including research and knowledge sharing with branches of government, academics and other firms.

The forum will also work together to refine existing technical work as well as develop new forms of content detection and classification.

As The Verge points out, the formation of this forum might very well be a response to the pressure Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube face from European governments to limit hate speech.

Whatever the real reason for breathing life into this forum is it’s good news for folks in the street and we commend these firms coming together for the greater good.

[Image – CC BY ND 2.0 Dennis Skley]