Tier 4: Promotional

There has been a growing recognition in the field of online counterterrorism of the need to move beyond a purely group-based approach to understand and define terrorist content online.(1) Through the TCAP Tiered Alert System, we will move beyond a reliance on terrorist designation to reflect and counter the post-organisational nature of the global terrorist threat. Meanwhile, we are committed to grounding our approach in the rule of law by providing legal bases for our policies and providing strict criteria for the inclusion of terrorist content to avoid setting undue speech norms and infringing on the right to freedom of speech.

Tier 4 will therefore cover material that goes beyond official content produced by designated terrorist entities (Tier 3) and crisis content (Tier 2). It will cover material that directly supports designated terrorist organisations, glorifies terrorists or terrorist acts, or provides instructions for the purpose of terrorism. Thus, in our view it reflects the next level of severity in terms of the degree to which the material promotes terrorist activity and the likelihood it will inspire offline violence. To provide definitional clarity and avoid the subjective interpretation of these types of ‘supporter-generated’(2) content, we narrow the scope of Tier 4 to material in support of designated terrorist organisations and terrorist attack perpetrators already included in the TCAP (Tiers 2 and 3).

Tier 4 is split into three taxonomic categories:

• Unofficial media outlets

• Inspirational material

• Instructional material

Each of the categories signifies how that content is promotional of terrorist activities and will be defined in detail below. We also reference two pieces of legislation that address terrorist content online: The European Union Terrorist Content Online (TCO) and the United Kingdom Terrorism Act (TACT)(3). We refer to this legislation to ground our inclusion of promotional terrorist material in the rule of law.

Unofficial media outlets

Unofficial terrorist content produced by media outlets affiliated to, but not officially recognised by, any terrorist entities in scope of the TCAP.

Through encouraging support for designated terrorist organisations, these unofficial media outlets, and the material they produce is promotional of the activities of terrorist organisations. This content is also easily identifiable given it uses consistent branding and logos demonstrating clear affiliation to the supporter media outlet.

Legal basis

Before inclusion, media outlets will be assessed for affiliation to a designated terrorist entity (in scope of TCAP) and the nature of their support. This will include consideration of the extent to which material produced by the media organisation:

• “Solicits others to participate in activities of a terrorist group”(4) (EU TCO)

• “Invites support for a proscribed(5) organisation.“(6) (UK TACT)

OR

• The media entity is designated as ‘terrorist’ by any of the authorities consulted for the TCAP.

Importantly, the alerting of individual content produced by unofficial media outlets through the TCAP does not necessarily mean that the content is illegal in the UK or Europe as it falls to the UK Courts or Member States to interpret whether it meets the threshold to breach TACT or the EU TCO. Additionally, each legislation defines a terrorist organisation based on its own designation list and therefore includes fewer groups than the TCAP, which relies on multiple lists. However, we assess this material to be highly likely illegal under these legal frameworks.

Inclusion process

The decision process to include media outlets within the TCAP will involve consulting leading terrorism experts and an assessment carried out by our in-house open-source intelligence team, who are experts in terrorist use of the internet.

We will maintain a list of unofficial media entities added to our Inclusion Policy, whose content we will alert to tech platforms via the TCAP. Although this list will not be public due to concerns around publicising these organisations, for transparency the list will be available upon request and in Tech Against Terrorism’s Knowledge Sharing Platform (KSP).(7)

Inspirational material

Content that explicitly encourages, glorifies and/or incites a terrorist act or praises the perpetrator(s) of that act, given the entity (individual or organisation) is included within scope of the TCAP.

Inspirational material presents a significant risk of inciting or motivating other individuals to participate in violent activity, including by reinforcing hateful and violent grievances.

Legal basis

Before inclusion, material will be assessed for the extent to which it glorifies a terrorist act or the perpetrator(s) of that act. This will include consideration of the extent to which the material:

• “Incites others to commit terrorist offences, such as by glorifying terrorist acts, or by advocating the commission of such offences”. (EU TCO)

• Meets the threshold of encouraging (directly or indirectly) or glorifying terrorism.(8) (UK TACT)

• Meets the definition of a terrorist publication: “If the contents are likely to be understood as encouragement or incitement of terrorism or likely to be useful in the commission or preparation of terrorism.“(9)

OR

• The material is classified as “objectionable content” by the New Zealand Classification Office for the reason of promoting terrorism.

Inclusion process

The decision process to include inspirational material within the TCAP will involve consulting leading terrorism experts, conducting a legal review, and an assessment carried out by our in-house open-source intelligence team, who are experts in terrorist use of the internet.

To narrow the scope and operationalise the collection of this content, we will begin by including documents and videos. These documents or videos do not have to be produced by a terrorist organisation already included within the TCAP but must meet the above criteria.

A key aim of this category is to counter the ‘sanctification’ of terrorist attack perpetrators, a recent cultural trend in fringe violent far-right online communities which venerates the violent actions of these figures. In practice, this means including content that glorifies so-called ‘Saints’ including militant accelerationist videos and publications, and edited or gamified versions of terrorist livestreams. To narrow the scope and operationalise the collection of this content, we will begin by including publications and videos rather than, for example, user posts.

We will maintain an internal list of inspirational material, which we will alert through Tier 4 of the TCAP. Although this list will not be public due to concerns around publicising this terrorist material, for transparency the list will be available upon request.

Instructional material

Content that provides instruction on the making or use of explosives, firearms, or other weapons or noxious of hazardous substances, or on other specific methods or techniques for the purpose of committing or contributing to the commission of terrorist offences.

Instructional material is promotional of terrorism by offering instructions and guidance on operational aspects of terrorist activity.

Legal basis

Before inclusion, instructional material will be assessed for the extent to which the material:

• “Provides instruction on the making or use of explosives, firearms or other weapons or noxious of hazardous substances, or on other specific methods or techniques for the purpose of committing or contributing to the commission of terrorist offences.“(10) (EU TCO)

• “Is likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.“(11) (UK TACT)

• Constitutes material support defined as a “service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who may be or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.”

OR

• There are other legal groundings for inclusion of the material such as the classification of the material as terrorist by one of the authorities consulted for the TCAP.

Inclusion process

The decision process to include instructional material within the TCAP will involve consulting leading terrorism experts, conducting a legal review, and an assessment carried out by our in-house open-source intelligence team, who are experts in terrorist use of the internet.

To narrow the scope and operationalise the collection of this content, we will begin by including documents and videos. These documents or videos do not have to be produced by a terrorist organisation already included within the TCAP but must meet the above criteria.

We will maintain an internal list of inspirational material, which we will alert through Tier 4 of the TCAP. Although this list will not be public due to concerns around publicising this terrorist material, for transparency the list will be available upon request.

(1) Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, Broadening the GIFCT Hash-Sharing Database Taxonomy: An Assessment and Recommended Next Steps

(2) This refers to content that is produced by supporters of terrorists or terrorist organisations, rather than these actors themselves.

(3) Note: The Interim Code of Practice on Terrorist Content and Activity Online is a voluntary code that interprets how the Terrorism Act (TACT) should be applied online, until this is codified in the UK Online Safety Bill.

(4) Point 7(c) of Article 2 of the TCO regulation.

(5) NOTE: This refers to terrorist organisations proscribed by the UK, which can be found here.

(6) Section 12 of the TACT regulation.

(7) The Knowledge Sharing Platform is a platform developed by Tech Against Terrorism to provide smaller tech companies with a collection of interactive tools and resources designed to support their operational and policy-oriented efforts with regard to developing and implementing an effective and human rights compliant counterterrorism response.

(8) Interpretation of TACT within Interim Code of Practice on Terrorist Content and Activity Online. Section1 of TACT 2006 criminalises public statements that encourage terrorism.

(9) Interim Code of Practice on Terrorist Content and Activity Online

(10) Point 7(d) of Article 2 of TCO Regulation.

(11) Section 58 of TACT 2000 Regulation.