High-level international conference on preventing and countering terrorism in the digital age

Terrorism continues to be a major cause for concern for OSCE participating States and their Partners for Co-operation. Terrorists seek to disrupt societies, instil fear into the population, and deprive citizens of their freedoms, as demonstrated during recent terrorist attacks in the OSCE region.

The widespread exploitation of the Internet and social media platforms by terrorists particularly poses serious challenges to States, national institutions, the media, the private sector and civil society. But the Internet as a communication channel also plays an important role in preventing and countering terrorism, including the financing of terrorism.

The conference will take stock of developments of the actions against terrorism by OSCE participating States and OSCE Partners for Co-operation in the digital age. It will provide an opportunity to exchange national experiences and perspectives on recent trends and measures with regard to strategic areas as laid out by previous Ministerial Council decisions and declarations.

Participants will also discuss challenges, responses and best practices for developing efficient ways to prevent and counter the misuse of the Internet by violent extremists and terrorists while respecting fundamental rights and freedoms.

The Internet component will be the overarching focus of the discussions, which will cover, among other topics, the legal framework in addressing terrorism, fostering public-private-partnerships in identifying and detecting the movement of terrorists, preventing and suppressing the financing of terrorism, and protecting critical infrastructure.