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National Table-Top Exercise on Countering the Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes

Description

This 3-day National Table-Top Exercise (TTX) is jointly organized by the TNTD's Action against Terrorism Unit and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan within a framework of a project “Providing Support to the Republic of Uzbekistan in fighting terrorism” implemented by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.

Summary

The TTX will be organized within a framework of a project “Providing Support to the Republic of Uzbekistan in fighting terrorism” implemented by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan. The scenario package contains a TTX Scenario text coupled with a case study - fictional in nature but based on real examples - that features moderated discussions and utilizes role-play situations to examine the threats posed by the exploitation of the Internet by terrorists and violent extremist groups and to develop responses actionable at both local and regional levels.

The TTX participants will be stakeholders from national, regional, and international institutions, the private sector, media, civil society, and academia to discuss ideas on preventing and countering the use of the internet for terrorist purposes.

TTX thematic issues will focus on two major directions of government efforts: (1) content-based and (2) communication-based responses3 to prevent and counter the use of the Internet for violent extremist and terrorist purposes.

The scenario-based TTX will promote the establishment of context-specific Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and promote existing successful multi-stakeholder initiatives, among which are Europol’s Internet Referral Units that serve as a focal point for voluntary coordination and collaboration between different governmental agencies, the ICT industry, and civil society when countering illegal content, as well as Tech Against Terrorism initiative which is focused on deepening the understanding of private industries’ responses to the terrorist use of their products and services and related challenges and to promote self-regulation and sharing good practices across the ICT industry.

The TTX will also highlight the role of civil society organizations in voluntary and proactively searching for violent extremist and terrorist content and providing a platform for the public to report such content anonymously. The TTX scenario will promote best practices on challenging the pull factors of violent extremist and terrorist propaganda materials through strategic communications, involving and empowering civil society organizations to use counter and alternative narratives both online and offline.

By the end of the TTX third day the participants - guided and supported by the TTX facilitators - will develop a draft Actionable Policy Responses and Recommendations (APRR) paper outlining ways to improve the efficiency of efforts in addressing the threats posed by the use of the Internet for terrorist
purposes, which will be finalized by TNTD/ATU jointly with the OSCE PCUz field office and then forwarded to the local authorities.