Google Jigsaw, GIFCT, and Tech Against Terrorism Develop Altitude: A Controversial Tool to Monitor “Potential” Extremist Content, Raising Censorship Concerns

There are suspected, and investigated instances of Big Government-Big Tech collusion.

And then there’s Google.

And within Google, there’s something now called Jigsaw. But that’s a rebranding of something Eric Schmidt thought of more than a decade ago, and was originally called Google Ideas.

Before the rebranding, way back when, Google Ideas was in the news for alleged ties with the US State Department (of the time).

So – what’s Jigsaw up to now?

Misinformation. Disinformation. Toxicity. Terrorism even. Against, obviously. “Climate change” – not cited but probably pending – is what this particular portion of Google is now involved with, working with the likes of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT).

Google Jigsaw was always about geopolitics, alarming as that information may be, bearing in mind the way Google reaches those billions of people around the world in the first place. Search. Videos. Fun.

GIFCT, meanwhile, brings together Big Tech and the UN-backed Tech Against Terrorism initiative. And GIFCT is seen as one of those large, tech-industry-spanning entities, that use their great power for the evil – namely, censorship.

But it does get worse. The Tech Against Terrorism is known for making alarming statements about matters like undefined “conspiracies,” but also content featuring “tradwives.” Well, that surely falls way clear of anything related to – terrorism. Or anything.

Other than the overall question – where’s our tax money going when it’s given to the UN, the same question arises specifically in the US and the EU – when Jigsaw announces its (Project) Altitude?

You might have thought Google could get embarrassed by something? Think again. Here, Google appropriates the goodwill and trust built over many decades around free and open-source software (FOSS) communities to lend verbal credibility to its own schemes.

“Jigsaw coordinated global, cross-platform organizations across civil society to build Altitude. Altitude, built with Tech Against Terrorism, in partnership with the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), is the only free, open-source, self-hosted tool to give online platforms a single elevated view of potential terrorist and violent extremist content (TVEC) on their sites,” the reports say.

So – Google’s also appropriating trust and positive image around self-hosting?

But what does “Altitude” supposedly do?

“Any platform can now access Altitude directly or work with Tech Against Terrorism to integrate the tool into its workflow and better understand the broader context of potential threats and evolving legislation.”

Potential? Care to explain how Google and its “friends” decide on that?

No, they don’t.

In order to complement the EU’s censorship law, “Digital Services Act,” this here is designed to target “smaller social media platforms and file sharing sites.”

Expect the expected.