Encrypted MESSAging and extreme speech
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“Extreme speech” and disinformation on the internet have become a major problem for democratic societies and “transition societies” worldwide. It has become clear that both interest groups and various actors have used the possibilities of internet-based networks to target vulnerable population groups, including people with a migration background, women, ethnic groups, religious minorities, and advocates for an inclusive society.
These developments pose a threat to values such as tolerance and diversity and endanger the foundations of human rights and human dignity. Within the complex mix of factors that shape extreme language ecosystems, encrypted instant messaging services represent a unique constellation. While encryption is commonly blamed for conditions of circumvention, its potential to foster intimacy and trust is no less significant, as is the way in which it, in conjunction with the closed communication architecture of messaging services, enables intrusive human networks around extreme language.
The CAS Research Group will subject this important form of internet-based communication to closer scrutiny. The aim is a global critical examination of the connections between encryption and extremist language. The group will approach the problem with an empirical focus on WhatsApp – an end-to-end encrypted, cross-platform messaging service owned by Meta, which, with more than 2 billion users and 100 billion daily messages worldwide, has become a central communication tool for a vast number of people.
Based on findings from different regions and different usage contexts, the research group will analyze the role of encrypted messaging services in “Extreme Speech” cultures worldwide and highlight the regulatory and methodological challenges that arise for academic research and policy.