RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, terrorist acts continue to roil cities nationally and throughout the globe; and ^
WHEREAS, most recently, on the morning of December 11, 2017, an individual detonated a homemade pipe bomb in a transit hub in New York City; and
WHEREAS, the bomber downloaded easily accessible information from the internet on how to build such a device; and
WHEREAS, the revelation has reignited pressure on internet search engines, service providers, and websites to eliminate or restrict the availability of these videos on their platforms; and
WHEREAS, instructions on destructive device-building and information about terrorism recruitment websites are readily available via large and popular search engines such as Google; and k
WHEREAS, in response to incidents such as this attack, Google has stated that "it now instructs its human reviewers to mark violent or hateful content as low quality" which will likely move such sites lower in Google's results, but has stopped well-short of removing them; and
WHEREAS, internet service providers should re-examine their policies regarding how to respond when users visit extremist websites; and
WHEREAS, the internet is at its most powerful as an unfettered conduit of information to all corners of the world; and
WHEREAS, as with all power, it stands poised to impart great benefit as much as it does great harm; and
WHEREAS, the use ofthe web to inform terrorists acts of any scope is a clearly unacceptable and criminal use; and
WHEREAS, extremists post their videos, photos, and messages on a variety of sites across the internet, and their followers often download the content and re-upload it after it is pulled down; and
WHEREAS, OEMC's "See Something Say Something" campaign should highlight that social media platforms and websites are not excluded from the call for public vigilance and reporting; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago, as do many other American cities, has an utmost commitment to terrorism prevention efforts; and
WHEREAS, presumably, an important component of any such plan is an early flagging system
that includes information regarding terrorist instruction and incitement promulgated through the internet; and
WHEREAS, to the extent that such activity and its location can be identified, this City Council seeks to ensure that such knowledge is shared with the relevant local authorities and channeled into a well-considered action plan; and
WHEREAS, as the pertinent websites and service providers touch upon each corner of our City, this Council further urges them to take on the role of good and proper corporate citizens and take on an unequivocal charge to eradicate the existence of these websites from their platforms; NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
That internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo, internet service providers, and individual websites accessible within the United States eliminate access to content that purports to instruct viewers on bomb making or execution of other terrorist acts.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City's Office of Emergency Management and Communication, appear before the City Council Committee on Public Safety to comment on the role of bomb making and terrorist instruction websites in local terror threats and terrorism prevention efforts.
Edward M. Burke Alderman, 14th Ward
Ariel Reboyras Alderman, 30th Ward