Wednesday, July 29, 2020

The Academy of Political Studies in cooperation with the Coordination Center for Countering Violent Extremism and the National Authority for Electronic Certification and Cyber Security presented today the report of a bi-monthly monitoring of the violent extremism propaganda circulating on online platforms in Albanian language.

The recommendations on strengthening the mechanisms of continuous monitoring of cyberspace have previously been shared with law enforcement institutions and regulatory authorities of the sector. Actually the proposed mechanism are being discussed with other stakeholders in order to establish a constructive dialogue. Main findings of the report are as follows: 

• Web pages and social media in Albanian language continue to play a major role in spreading ideologies and propaganda on violent extremism.

• Extremist messages and hate speech promoting radicalization have not been removed or blocked by Internet service providers or social media platforms in Albanian language, even though they were published many years ago.

• The most vulnerable age group to online extremism messages is that of 15-25 years old, mostly male. This segment of society is even more at risk of being recruited as fighters in conflict zones or committing terrorist acts in their societies.

Some recommendations offered to policymakers and other actors facing the challenges of violent online extremism:

• Strengthening the capacities of institutional structures and collaboration with “trusted flaggers” for continuous monitoring of violent extremism propaganda circulating on online platforms in the Albanian language.

• Reviewing the National Strategy and Action Plan "Against Violent Extremism", in order to improve the component of Strategic Communication and create effective measures for online security.

• Establishing legal acts for online platform providers (websites, blogs, social networks, etc.) to provide contact points or technical interfaces, which can allow effective and timely signaling of extremist material.

• Drafting protocols for Internet Service Providers in public places such as schools, shopping centers, bars or even public squares, aiming at installing filters, special software or other innovative measures to prevent the access of harmful content online.

This cooperation of APS in providing research expertise and facilitating dialogue with various actors in the field, is supported by the US Embassy in Tirana in the framework of the project "Enhancing resilience in Albanian cyber ecosystem against Violent Extremism".
 
The report and legal framework can be consulted at the following links:
 
The violent extremism propaganda circulating on online platforms in Albanian
 
Legislative framework for countering Violent Extremism in cyberspace in Albania