The International Police Organization (INTERPOL) recently conducted a first-of-its-kind specialized training course for law enforcement in the Middle East and North Africa on countering the use of social media for terrorist activities.
The program aimed to improve methods for identifying and detecting potential terrorism subjects based on their use of social media, address challenges regarding to the use of digital evidence in criminal cases and foster discussion between the private sector and law enforcement about counterterrorism investigations.
The five-day course brought together investigators and intelligence officers from Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia. The Government of Canada funded the program. INTERPOL, the Spanish National Police, Europol, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and Facebook provided expertise.
The training course is part of a larger program designed to support law enforcement agencies in the Middle East and North Africa in addressing terrorism and foreign terrorist fighters threats through exchanging best practices and investigative techniques.