The EU Clean IT Project, good or bad?

[rolfw]

Reducing the impact of the terrorist use of the Internet

The internet plays a central role in and is of great strategic importance to terrorists and extremist networks. These networks know that propaganda is a critical tool for generating funding, recruits and support for their cause. Historically they have used a variety of media channels, such as television, radio and publishing, in order to communicate their views. During the past decade of huge global growth of the internet, Al Qaida-influenced extremists for example, have made increasing use of this medium. The internet and its fast and anonymous means of communication can contribute to individual radicalization processes. There are concerns about the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes and the abuse of legal / neutral websites. The question is if we can reduce the impact of the use of internet for terrorist purposes, without affecting our online freedom. A question this project tackles in a public-private dialogue.

The Clean IT project is carried out with the financial support of the European Commission’s Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme (Directorate-General Justice, Freedom and Security).

The project team is hosted at the Ministry of Security and Justice, National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism and Security, in the Netherlands.

The Clean IT project

I'm ambivalent on this, as there are obvious advantages in curtailing terrorists' and extremists' use of the internet as a promotional and coordination tool, but given the history of governments and large private companies, will the baby be thrown out with the bathwater.

 

[PaulR]

I share a disquiet about allowing governmental, and especially non-governmental, organisations more power and yet, and yet...

I really don't know. There's a risk of a nanny state mentality as well where everyone is "helped" to identify terrorist, or potential terrorist, sites. The problem is that there are too many people who are not critical enough about what they read on the Internet.

 

[2cvbloke]

To mostly quote Dr. McCoy in reference to Zefram Cochrane, "they talk a lot, but they don't say much"...

From their brief intro, I can't work out what they're meant to be doing, are they curtailing the sale of used computers, are they wanting internet access more restricted, are they after making buying webspace more difficult???

I'm all for anti-terrorism stuff, but, at least try to explain WHAT anti-terrorism techniques you're planning to use rather than just expect the anti-terrorism sheep to follow them.......

 

[rolfw]

There are lots of documents on that site, including an FAQ, at the moment it's at the discussion forum stage.