Bjørn Ihler named Chair of the GIFCT IAC

It is with great pride we are able to announce that Khalifa Ihler Institute co-founder Bjørn Ihler has been elected to chair the independent advisory committee of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism.

The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism was founded in collaboration between Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube to counter the abuse of their platforms by terrorists. It has grown from that, among others in light of the Christchurch Call, to an international organization bringing together stakeholders from across sectors, both from government, non-governmental organizations, international agencies, and a range of related fields of research and practice in order to improve global capacity to handle incidents, prevent and respond to abuse of digital space by terrorists and violent extremists.

The IAC includes 21 representatives from civil society, government, and international organizations. As set forth in the IAC Terms of Reference, the IAC Chair will always be selected from among the Committee’s civil society representatives. Responsibilities of the Chair include the following:

• Providing leadership for the IAC and representing the IAC as a non-voting member of GIFCT’s Operating Board;

• Setting the agenda for IAC meetings; facilitating decision-making where required; and liaising directly with the Executive Director, on behalf of the IAC, and with GIFCT member companies;

• Ensuring that appropriate resources are available for any potential work streams or issues that the IAC identifies.

Decisions by the IAC will be made by consensus. In exceptional cases when consensus is not possible, the Chair may move for a vote of the full Committee membership. In the case of a tie, the Chair will cast the deciding vote.

Ihler looks forward to taking on this new role and sees it as a good avenue for continuing his work against extremism and terrorism, and for more peaceful and thriving communities.