Johnson announces new funding to help identify violent video content

New research backed by UK funding and expertise aims to help stop violent videos being shared online after terrorist attacks, Boris Johnson said at the UN General Assembly in New York.

The UK Prime Minister has announced new funding to support efforts to develop industry-wide technology that can better identify online videos designed to avoid existing detection methods.

UK data-science experts will use the funding to create an algorithm which any internet company in the world can use to improve the detection of violent and harmful videos and prevent them being made available.

The outcomes of the research will also be used to help identify other types of harmful online content such as child sexual abuse.

The announcement was made as the Prime Minister addressed a leaders’ event at the UNGA, hosted by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, President Macron of France, the King of Jordan and the UN Secretary General.

Johnson said:

“The internet can and should be a force for good in the world – one that can unite and empower our citizens, increase our knowledge and understanding, and open up society.

“What it cannot be is a place to watch mass murder unfold. We will not allow technology to be harnessed for evil.

“British experts are at the forefront of the fight against online terror and this new funding will boost their pioneering work to find innovative new ways to tackle the threats this poses to our values and way of life.”