As part of the 2018 GovTech Catalyst Fund, the Home Office is launching a competition to develop technology that automates the detection of new and historic terrorist still imagery hosted online. This competition is being run by the Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU), a strategic communications unit within the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism in the Home Office.

HMG has had major successes in dramatically reducing the volume and dissemination of terrorists’ propaganda output, yet we continue to contend with new and often horrifying material emanating from terrorist groups every day. Threatened with both impotence and irrelevance, groups like Daesh are increasingly dependent on their ability to inspire terrorism in the West through propaganda to maintain their profile. The challenge presented by terrorist propaganda online is enduring, adaptive and resilient.

While moderators play an essential role in supervising the online removal of terrorist propaganda, human moderation alone cannot adequately respond to the speed and scale of the dissemination of this content. Policymakers across government and industry have acknowledged the importance of using machine learning and AI technology to support the detection and removal of harmful content.

THE CHALLENGE

Home Office analysis of the dissemination of Daesh propaganda shows that on average more than two-thirds of the media shared online by the group’s supporters are photographs or other still imagery. Increasingly this propaganda is being produced by the supporters of terrorist organisations, rather than the groups themselves. As supporters do not use official channels to promote this content online, it can be difficult to detect, analyse and remove. Additional technical challenges with detecting this content will be discussed in this session.

RICU is seeking the development of technology to automate the detection and analysis of new and historical terrorist still imagery online. As part of this work, competition applicants are expected to be able to develop a methodology for detecting, verifying and cataloguing of terrorist still imagery that could be dually applied for RICU's analysis and by industry, to expedite the removal of this content on their platforms. As such, applicants will be expected to meet industry's standards of accuracy to allow the automated removal of this content.

Successful bids will need to demonstrate an ability to analyse large volumes of terrorist still imagery for actionable insights which can be used to reduce the risks of online radicalisation. The methodology for detection should be robust enough to allow for the detection of terrorist still imagery for removal within an hour of first release.

EVENT AGENDA

09:00-09:30 - Registration, tea and coffee

09:30-09:45 - Opening remarks

09:45-10:05 - Terrorist still imagery and how it is disseminated

10:05-10:20 - Policy implications and work with industry

10:20-10:40 - Technical and project specification

10:40-11:30 - Q&A with challenge sponsor

LOGISITICS

It is expected that there will be a high level of interest in this challenge. As such, we can only issue a maximum of two tickets per organisation to this event. Please restrict your company's attendance as appropriate. Please ensure you sign up with a company email address.

Please arrive at 2 Marsham Street by 09:15 at the latest, to allow time to undergo Home Office security checks. Visitors will be required to present a photo ID at reception.

While you are permitted to bring and use laptops and smartphones, this event is for background for bidders for this challenge and no information discussed is permitted to be made public or disclosed outside of the event.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For more information about this challenge or the event, please contact: RICUAnalysis@homeoffice.x.gsi.gov.uk