The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) is pleased to welcome Jonathan Russell as the new Chair of the Independent Advisory Committee (IAC). The IAC, which provides strategic, substantive advice in support of GIFCT’s mission to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms, held its first meeting under Russell’s leadership earlier this month.
Jonathan Russell
Formerly serving as IAC Vice-Chair, Russell is the International Director at Violence Prevention Network and brings over a decade of experience in counter-terrorism, civil society, and tech. His background includes previously working on terrorism prevention in Meta’s Safety Policy team, leading the countering violent extremism portfolio at a strategic communications agency, and sitting on the Steering Committee for the European Union’s Radicalisation Awareness Network.
“The scale of the challenges posed by terrorist and violent extremist use of the Internet: to radicalize, recruit, and operationalize is matched only by the speed of tech development. I am convinced that the best way to effectively counter and prevent violence online is for tech platforms to work together to build cross-industry solutions, and GIFCT is at the frontier of this.
As the new Chair of GIFCT’s Independent Advisory Committee, I see our role as ensuring that GIFCT fulfills its mandate effectively, safely, and transparently. With an excellent group of 20 experts, organizations, and governments we will bring a multistakeholder perspective to help it do so.” – Jonathan Russell, Violence Prevention Network and GIFCT IAC
GIFCT values its relationship with the IAC, which plays a vital role in promoting multistakeholder collaboration, providing strategic and substantive advice, and deepening understanding of terrorism, violent extremism, and their ongoing evolution.
“I am pleased to welcome Jonathan Russell as the new IAC Chair. His longstanding commitment to GIFCT’s mission and his broad experience in countering terrorism and violent extremism will be instrumental as we continue to enhance the impact of our work and improve how we serve our members. I look forward to working in close partnership with him as we advance our shared goals.”- Naureen Chowdhury Fink, GIFCT Executive Director
We look forward to continued collaboration and engagement with the IAC under Russell’s leadership and we are pleased to welcome new IAC members, whose expertise and perspectives will further enrich the committee’s role in guiding GIFCT’s mission. GIFCT would also like to express its deep appreciation to the previous IAC Chair, Ghayda Hassan for providing leadership and coordinating the IAC over the past three years, and to the outgoing IAC members for their support of and engagement with GIFCT.
