Is Official Terrorist Content Illegal Online? Terrorist Designation and the Online Realm

On this week’s episode of the podcast, we’re looking at terrorist designation. We analyse different countries’ designation systems and discuss how they can be improved. We consider the role designation plays in the fight against terrorism and how it can be used as a tool to tackle terrorist content online. 

Anne Craanen is joined by two experts on designation, firstly Dr. Anna Meier who is an Assistant Professor of political science and international relations at the University of Nottingham. Anna studies counterterrorism in Germany and the United States, with a particular interest in white supremacist violence and proscription policy. Anne also speaks to Jason Blazakis, Professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) and former Director of the Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office, Bureau of Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State. Jason is also a Senior Advisor at The Soufan Group.

Our other guest this week is David Shanks who is the Chief Censor of the New Zealand Classification Office. David’s role as part of this media regulator includes making determinations about the legality of the most extreme and violent terrorist content. He gives us a fascinating insight into some of the dilemmas this responsibility entails and on what can be done to better tackle terrorist content online. We also get insight from Archie Macfarlane, who is a Junior Research Analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, on the work TAT has been doing on designation.

To find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic.