Counterterrorism Measures via Internet Intermediaries: A First Amendment & National Security Dilemma

This article examines the tension between counterterrorism efforts directed at internet intermediaries and the protections of the First Amendment. The author, Mohamed H. Aziz, situates the analysis in the context of terrorists' use of the internet's transnational, low-barrier communication platforms to reach audiences anonymously, drawing on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's observation that transnational terrorist use of the internet requires an equally transnational governmental response. The article frames this as a national security dilemma in which measures aimed at internet intermediaries to counter terrorist use of online platforms must be reconciled with free-speech protections.