Speaking at a forum on cyber terrorism and incitement, part of Cyber Week at Tel Aviv University, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said that the ability of the state to maintain its internal security is undermined by the manner in which cyberspace’s special qualities are being exploited by the instigators and supporters of terrorism. Shaked referred to a current stringent German bill which states, among other things, that the defamation of the state and its symbols, encouragement of violent action endangering the state, incitement of the public to commit a crime, and the establishment of terrorist organizations constitute illegal content when posted online.
The Social Networks Enforcement Law, first announced in March by German Justice Minister Heiko Maas, holds social media companies accountable for the content published on their sites, demanding that all of it complies with Germany’s strict laws on hate speech and defamation.
With an admirable German no-nonsense attitude, the bill imposes fines of up to $55 million on tech companies that do not remove hate speech, incitement to violence, and other “obviously illegal” content from their platforms within 24 hours. More ambiguous content must be dealt with within one week.
The Heiko Maas bill is under attack throughout Europe due to its obvious chilling effect on free speech. Corporations are expected to err on the side of caution, sweeping with one big broom everything, from hateful speech to tender poetry, leaving us with little more than kittens playing the piano (unless they play Deutschland Uber Alles).
Recalling the start of Israel’s wave of terror, a.k.a. the lone-wolf wave of terror, that erupted in September 2015, Minister Shaked noted that it was discovered very quickly that seven out of ten of the initial ten cases of that wave had been committed by individuals exposed to incitement on the social networks. The information came from simply digging into their accounts, or by the testimonies of those individuals who remained alive after their attacks.
“This phenomenon stems from the nature of cyberspace, which has turned the world into one small neighborhood. Service providers have turned every participant into a spokesperson; every Iranian citizen wields influence in Israel and the United States; every ISIS activist mobilizes European citizens for terror,” Shaked explained.
Control over this phenomenon is in the hands of service providers, and states depend on their willingness to regulate the activity they facilitate, Shaked continued, noting that “since the suppliers are international companies, there are limitations on the enforceability of local laws.”
“The usual tools – exposing and arresting the instigators, collecting evidence and prosecuting them – are not applicable in most of these cases,” Shaked complained, “while the Internet allows for mass distribution, anonymity, and actions taken outside Israel that affects events inside Israel.”
“In effect, our sovereignty is being violated,” Shaked stressed. “The ability of the state to maintain its internal security is undermined by the manner in which the characteristics of cyberspace are exploited negatively by the instigators and supporters of terrorism.”
The Justice Minister said she had instructed her professional staff to act on several levels:
1. An inter-ministerial task force, led by the cyber department of the State Attorney’s Office, and in cooperation with various security agencies, identifies inciting content associated with terrorist organizations or activities. After locating the contents, legal requests are submitted to remove the prohibited content, in cooperation with Internet service providers.
2. The task force focused on discourse with the major Internet providers, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter, in order to clarify Israel’s perception of what constitutes inciting and forbidden content.
3. Legislation, together with Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, to remove content from the Internet and social networks through a court order.
4. Legislation to prevent access to content that supports terrorism.
5. A future conference of justice ministers from all over the world to establish cooperation in the fight against incitement, violence and hatred content in the social networks.
“I want to connect to the message I hear from the big Internet companies like Google and Facebook, that the social networks have no room for terror or hatred,” Shaked concluded. “I agree with this message, and I feel a deep commitment to fulfilling our duty to eradicate the evil that grows within the online space and which also affects our physical security.”