Some of the biggest internet companies in the world are joining forces to fight terrorist content online.
Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube said in a joint statement they will create a shared database of flagged, terrorist content. With the use of unique digital fingerprints — otherwise known as "hashes" — they can track "violent terrorist imagery or terrorist recruitment videos or images" that violate content policies.
By having access to this combined database, the tech giants hope to identify potential terrorist content more efficiently on their respective platforms.
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As they said in the statement, "We hope this collaboration will lead to greater efficiency as we continue to enforce our policies to help curb the pressing global issue of terrorist content online."
The companies say the database won't contain any personal information and that flagged content won't be automatically removed from each platform. Each company will have to review the content in question and determine if it violates its terms of service.
The program is expected to begin in early 2017.
