Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Congress as well as various groups of law enforcement officials and Silicon Valley executives are focusing on fighting violent extremism online in a number of private briefings this week.
- Washington policymakers are hoping to find a way to stop Islamic State militant groups from using technology to recruit online and evade surveillance detection.
- An encryption briefing for members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee took place on Tuesday, and talks have been under way between the National Security Council and technology companies.
Dive Insight:
The attacks in San Bernardino, California, and Paris reinvigorated debate over personal privacy online. Some have called for efforts that would weaken encryption to make it easier for the government to monitor communications. But technology companies and privacy advocates oppose that idea, warning that weaker encryption would expose data to hackers.
On Tuesday, a bill was introduced that would require social media companies to report online terrorist activity to law enforcement. But the measure was expected to face opposition.
On Sunday, President Obama appealed to tech companies to “help address the threat of militant groups using social media and electronic communications to plan and promote violence."
