Online extremism

20.09.2017

Extremist organizations skillfully use Internet space, including social networks as the convenient and effective platform for promotion of ideology and recruitment of people.

The Public Foundation “Civil Initiative on Internet Policy” (CIIP) in close cooperation with public authorities and the civil sector, research institutes and international experts regularly carries out a number of measures against manifestations of online extremism.

CIIP actively promotes advocacy-campaigns against of online extremism, using a comprehensive approach:

  • Advance of the international principles for limiting access to an illegal content in the network;
  • Promotion of the concept of removal of an illegal content from network (take-down) by content providers;
  • Development of critical thinking of Internet users.

On the basis of the analysis of the legislation, made by CIIP, and study of judicial practices on the extremist issues, the State Program on Counteracting Violent Extremism and Terrorism in the Kyrgyz Republic for 2017-2022 has been developed and adopted.

In February 2016, CIIP has acted as the organizer of the first Central Asian Forum on Countering Extremism Online, which aimed to assessing the level of impact of the Internet on the recruitment process of extremists and also elaborating a strategy and mechanisms to prevent popularizing of these ideas in Central Asia.

The main practical result of the forum was creation of the Analytical Center on Information Security of Central Asia.

At the beginning of 2018 with support of the Government office of the Kyrgyz Republic, CIIP has begun implementation of the project on strengthening youth resilience to online propaganda of violent extremism in Kyrgyzstan, which objectives are:

  • Increase of youth resilience to online propaganda of extremism through increasing potential of young audience to recognize and critically assess online extremist propaganda;
  • Creation of preventive measures against extremism in the information sphere;
  • Increase capacity of experts engaged in issues of counteracting extremism.