Meta releases open-source tool to scan for terrorist content

The HMA software detects website content for harmful and inappropriate propaganda using a wide shared database

Meta Platforms spent $3 billion on global safety and security last year ensuring employees were dedicated to anti-terror work. The company has recently released the tool it employs to combat child exploitation, terrorist propaganda and other types of abusive content for free.

Hasher-Matcher-Actioner (HMA) is built on Meta's previous image and video matching software released three years ago. The software will keep websites free from inappropriate content with the help of users users who label images and videos violating rules and regulations. HMA creates a kind of "hash" or unique fingerprint of each piece of content that will get saved onto a database, which can be accessed and used by companies to create or run their own databases.

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Meta Platforms released HMA shortly before its about to head the chair of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) board, formed in 2017 with Twitter, YouTube, and Microsoft to fight online extremism. GIFCT already runs a database that companies can access, along with HMA. Meta believes that when "more companies participate in the hash sharing database the better and more comprehensive it is — and the better we all are at keeping terrorist content off the internet, especially since people will often move from one platform to another to share this content." It added: "...many companies do not have the in-house technology capabilities to find and moderate violating content in high volumes, which is why HMA is a potentially valuable tool."

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In its announcement, Meta Platforms emphasized its commitment to ensuring responsibility and transparancy with fair rules and processes to achieve detailed Community Standards setting for their users.

HMA can be accessed and used here.