Within the past few weeks, we have seen many incidents of terrorism. From the Manchester bombing to the latest Finsbury Mosque attack, it has taken a toll on many people throughout the globe. It seems as though we can never escape the jarring headlines that plague our news. However, Google seems to want to put an end to these horrors.
Google is now claiming they will do a lot more to suppress terrorism propaganda over the internet. They are now creating new policies and practices to subdue terrorism-related video. Google will also increase their use of technology to seek out and find extremist and terrorism-related videos across its sites and increase their number of people who scour the internet for terrorism-related content.
This all comes from Google’s general counsel, Kent Walker, who wrote an editorial in the Financial Times on Sunday. Walker made several points on how Google was going to tackle this issue and achieve their goals of putting an end to as muck propaganda as they can.
“Together, we can build lasting solutions that address the threats to our security and our freedoms,” Walker wrote. ‘‘It is a sweeping and complex challenge. We are committed to playing our part.”
Google outlines this process in just four steps. These steps include putting more engineering resources into developing artificial software and taking a tougher stance against Youtube videos that do not clearly violate Youtube’s rules but still include extremist content. Walker writes that Google is “committed to being part of the solution” when tackling the extremist content.
While this will help to end horrific terrorism content and we may finally see even a slight decrease, this could potentially promote islamophobia. With Google hiring more experts to keep tabs on terrorist, it could lead to racial profiling on middle eastern people, especially those who practice the Muslim religion. Many people sadly forget that terrorism has no color and that many white people have committed acts of terrorism.
Hopefully these new policies will apply to all forms of terrorism regardless of race and actually provide a solution that ends terrorist propaganda. With the world getting scarier and more dangerous, it is nice to seem some good in the world and see people coming together to help spread support.
