Brian Fishman

Nov 27, 2024 | homelandsecuritynewswire.com | Brian Fishman

TERRORISMOrganizing for Innovation: Lessons from Digital CounterterrorismPublished 27 November 2024This article explores five factors that were key to facilitating innovation in Facebook’s approach to countering the Islamic State—and that I argue are more generalizable. They are: people, organization, legitimacy, tools, and collaboration. It also identifies lessons that can be learned from that experience.

Nov 22, 2024 | ctc.westpoint.edu | Kristina Hummel |Brian Fishman

Abstract: Digital platforms were slow to build robust teams to counter threat actors, but today, many of those corporate teams have robust processes, specialized tools, and innovative approaches to countering highly adaptive adversaries. They operate in a tremendously dynamic environment where their adversaries can innovate at low cost, primarily because of the nature of the digital “terrain” where the conflict occurs.

Mar 14, 2023 | brookings.edu | Brian Fishman

The old military aphorism that “the enemy gets a vote” is oft forgotten in both Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. This cliche is worth keeping in mind as Congress debates adjustments to Section 230 (§230) of the Communications Decency Act. For starters, Silicon Valley’s persistent inability to ground products in the knowledge that some users will deliberately abuse them, and the unsurprising abuse that results, motivates many in Washington to adjust §230’s liability protections.

Mar 8, 2023 | brookings.edu | Tom Wheeler |Brian Fishman |Annie Henry |Mark MacCarthy

The first mover advantage is well established in the commercial marketplace. The same concept works in the regulatory marketplace: Whoever gets there first has the upper hand to define what follows. Unfortunately, while other liberal democracies race to define the digital future, the United States is AWOL. The nation whose governmental support helped establish American technological leadership now stands immobile when it comes to national governance and public interest oversight of that technology.

Mar 1, 2023 | brookings.edu | Mark MacCarthy |Brian Fishman |Mishaela Robison |Annie Henry

The European Data Protection Board’s (EDPB) recent decision on Meta’s personalized ad practices might require social media companies and other online businesses to significantly revise their data-focused advertising business models if it is upheld by the European courts. As I explained in a previous Brookings post, the EDPB’s decision is rooted in Article 6 of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires companies to have a lawful basis for their data practices.