The effort to combat online terrorism has taken in a new ally with word that Microsoft has joined the likes of Google and Facebook in tackling terrorism online. They are considered one of the remaining major tech companies to join the cause though it was not yet mentioned how they intend to do their part.
Though their pledge is a good sign of unity against terrorism, there is no official word yet on their part on how they intend to contribute to the cause. The easy guess that it would be tied up with their web search service but for now though Microsoft has not committed to doing so unless it comes with reason.
"We will remove links to terrorist-related content from Bing only when that takedown is required of search providers under local law," said Microsoft.
From the looks of it, the company will approach it the professional way meaning that it may be done through stages. This is despite admitting that terrorist content has already reached their content services, particularly Xbox Live and Outlook webmail.
With the proper groundwork, Microsoft may follow the lead of other major tech companies like Telegram Facebook and Google.
Telegram has been keeping close watch on terrorist content. The efforts of the secure messaging app company have resulted in the blocking of over 600 channels associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant dating back to November.
Google has done its share by screening anti-radicalism links while Facebook is currently monitoring terrorist-related content on their end.
Though it isn’t clear for now, Microsoft seems to be on the move following word that the company is funding Hany Farid. Farid is a professor at Dartmouth College and is being commissioned to develop a technology that scans documents, video, images and audio to properly identify terrorism-related materials only.
