Tests have shown this new tool can automatically detect 94% of Daesh propaganda with 99.995% accuracy. It has an extremely high degree of accuracy, for instance if it analyses one million randomly selected videos, only 50 would require additional human review. The tool can be used by any platform, and integrated into the upload process, so that the majority of video propaganda is stopped before it ever reaches the internet.

Developed by the Home Office and ASI Data Science, the technology uses advanced machine learning to analyse the audio and visuals of a video to determine whether it could be Daesh propaganda.

The Home Office and ASI will be sharing the methodology behind the new model with smaller companies, in order to help combat the abuse of their platforms by terrorists and their supporters.

Many of the major tech companies have developed technology specific to their own platforms and have publicly reported on the difference this is making in their fight against terrorist content. Smaller platforms, however, are increasingly targeted by Daesh and its supporters and they often do not have the same level of resources to develop technology.

The model, which has been trained using over 1,000 Daesh videos, is not specific to one platform so can be used to support the detection of terrorist propaganda across a range of video-streaming and download sites in real-time.

Welcoming the new technology Home Secretary Amber Rudd said:

Over the last year we have been engaging with internet companies to make sure that their platforms are not being abused by terrorists and their supporters. I have been impressed with their work so far following the launch of the Global Internet Forum to Counter-Terrorism, although there is still more to do, and I hope this new technology the Home Office has helped develop can support others to go further and faster.

The purpose of these videos is to incite violence in our communities, recruit people to their cause, and attempt to spread fear in our society. We know that automatic technology like this, can heavily disrupt the terrorists’ actions, as well as prevent people from ever being exposed to these horrific images.

This Government has been taking the lead worldwide in making sure that vile terrorist content is stamped out.

The announcement comes as the Home Secretary travels to Silicon Valley to hold a series of meetings with the main communication service providers to discuss tackling terrorist content online. She is expected to discuss the new model on her visit to find out what companies are doing to develop innovative methods that identify Daesh propaganda, and support smaller companies, such as Vimeo, Telegra.ph and pCloud to remove terrorist content from their platforms.

Separately, new Home Office analysis demonstrates that Daesh supporters used more than 400 unique online platforms to push out their poisonous material in 2017, highlighting the importance of technology that can be applied across different platforms. Previous research has found the majority of links to Daesh propaganda are disseminated within two hours of release, while a third of all links are disseminated within the first hour.

The new research also shows 145 new platforms from July until the end of the year had not been used before.

As part of her two day visit to San Francisco, the Home Secretary will also meet Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen to discuss how the UK and US can work together to tackle terrorist content online, and appear together at a Digital Forum event today (Tuesday). The Home Secretary will also meet with the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, which was launched last year following a roundtable convened at the Home Office in the aftermath of the Westminster Bridge attack.

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has today, 12 February, opened a statutory inquiry into the charity Oxfam (registered charity number 202918). It comes after the Commission examined documents sent today by Oxfam regarding allegations of misconduct by staff involved in its humanitarian response in Haiti. The Commission has concerns that Oxfam may not have fully and frankly disclosed material details about the allegations at the time in 2011, its handling of the incidents since, and the impact that these have both had on public trust and confidence.

Further details about the scope of the inquiry will be made public in the coming days. The opening of the inquiry is in line with the regulator’s duty to promote public trust and confidence in charities. The Commission will ensure the inquiry’s findings are put on the public record and will also ensure the actions the Commission required of Oxfam in 2017 on its safeguarding culture and practices are properly and fully carried out.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

David Holdsworth, Deputy Chief Executive of the Charity Commission said:

Charities and dedicated, hard-working aid workers undertake vital, lifesaving work in some of the most difficult circumstances across the world. However, the issues revealed in recent days are shocking and unacceptable. It is important that we take this urgent step to ensure that these matters can be dealt with fully and robustly.

Future steps

The Commission’s Chief Executive, Helen Stephenson met today with the Secretary of State for International Development. They both agreed that charities need to do more to ensure high standards of safeguarding and set the right culture and tone at the top and are committed to ensuring that this is the case. We are pleased to announce, with DFID, that we will be calling in key international aid charities to a summit on safeguarding as soon as possible in the coming weeks, paving the way for a significant conference.

It is vital that trustees set a culture within their charity that prioritises safeguarding so that it is safe for those affected to come forward and report incidents and concerns with the assurance they will be handled sensitively and properly by charities. Full and frank disclosure to the regulator and the relevant authorities, nationally and internationally, is also key. Everybody has the right to be safe, and the public rightly expects charities to be safe and trusted places for all who they come into contact with.

The summit and conference follow on from the alert the Commission issued to charities in December 2017. This alert made clear that any previously unreported serious incidents should be submitted to the Commission as a matter of urgency. It also reminded charities to review their safeguarding practices and procedures if they had not done so in the last 12 months. The Commission will ensure that charities respond to this alert appropriately.

Ends

Notes to editors

1. For the Commission’s response to concerns about Oxfam on 10 February see GOV.UK.
2. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see the about us page on GOV.UK.
3. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
4. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.

Published 12 February 2018

Mr Mundell will meet senior political and business figures, to promote Scotland as a great place for investment, business and study.

Mr Mundell said:

Scotland has long established connections with Hong Kong and Japan and I am looking forward to building on those ties and forming new partnerships as I meet a variety of stakeholders throughout this trip – from businesses and opinion formers to Scottish students abroad.

I am particularly keen to promote the UK Government’s GREAT Festival of Innovation taking place in Hong Kong in March offering the latest thinking on innovation across industry, society and community, building life-long partnerships.

I will also be promoting Scottish produce, such as Scottish craft gin which has been a global success story, and is extremely popular in Japan, and meeting with the Japanese investors in Scotland.

Scotland’s skills, products and services are highly regarded globally, and we can build on that as we leave the EU and strike ambitious new trade deals around the world.

In Hong Kong, Mr Mundell will meet Scottish companies seeking to develop business interests in Hong Kong and the region, Scottish students studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as meeting winners of the annual UK Government’s Hong Kong FinTech Awards.

In Japan he will meet with life sciences investors, host a roundtable with Japanese MPs on LGBT issues, and meet with senior Government ministers.

The Foreign Secretary meets Rohingya refugees at Cox’s Bazar.