Microsoft became first IT company in history during UN Security Council session

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Microsoft became the first IT company in history, which participated in the UN Security Council session. Steve Crown, Vice-President and Deputy General Counsel of Microsoft Corporation, said that, for the Internet industry, the scale of the terrorist challenge is “daunting.” Indeed, as one was terrorist propaganda site was taken down, another seemed to spring up in its place, “Armenpress” reports, citing the UN official website.

There had been 7,500 tweets within 15 minutes of the Paris attacks, and within two weeks, there had been 1 million Internet views, many praising the attacks, he recalled. In fact, another company in the technology sector had noted that its 1.6 billion users submitted one million reports of objectionable postings every day across all content categories. “If there were an elegant solution, industry would have adopted it,” he said, adding that there was no “silver bullet” to stop terrorists using the Internet.

He went on to emphasize that terrorist use of Internet platforms was a complicated topic. Like fire, gunpowder and the printing press, any technology could be used for either good or evil. Since the Internet industry was built on the idea that communications could unleash human potential, Microsoft’s mission was to empower every person on the planet.

Other companies in the sector, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, differed from each other and competed fiercely at times, but they came together when Internet platforms were abused, he said. Perhaps the best example was the unity displayed in combating child sex abuse materials, he said. Similarly, the industry was united in working to address terrorist abuse of technology services.

Describing public-private partnerships as the appropriate response, he stressed the need for the international community to work together in a coordinated and transparent way. However, there was no universally accepted definition of terrorism or extremism at the international or regional level, he pointed out. While definitional lines were hard to draw, the international community could agree broadly on harmful actors, he said, emphasizing that dialogue and learning was the path to success.

The rule of law and the promotion of human rights were critical for Microsoft, he stressed, pointing out that it published a global human rights statement in order to ensure the right approach to doing business.

As actors worked together across sectors, it was essential that they have an open discussion and explore new and improved means of addressing misuse of information and technology platforms. “We need to admit what we do not know,” he said, underscoring the need to focus on taking action and learning from experience.