The Obama administration has struggled to craft a cohesive strategy to diminish the online presence of ISIS. (Representational Image)
The US Justice Department convened a meeting with social media companies and other groups on Wednesday to discuss ways to counter the use of cyberspace by militant extremist groups like ISIS and support strategic counter-messaging campaigns.
The Obama administration has struggled to craft a cohesive strategy to diminish the online presence of ISIS, which uses Twitter Inc and other Internet platforms to spread violent propaganda and radicalize new recruits.
Twitter, Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google and Apple Inc were among the companies represented, according to the companies.
John Carlin, assistant attorney general for national security, led the briefing by providing an overview of Islamic State's media strategy and expressing a desire to increase the "scale (of) counter-narratives and optimistic messaging" to meet the threat the terrorist group poses online, according to an agenda seen by Reuters.
US Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith, a former Google executive, was also expected to lead a discussion, according to the agenda.
"The US government recognises that these private-sector actors, which include NGOs, social media companies, and content producers, have a crucial role to play in developing creative and effective ways to undermine terrorist recruiting and counter the call to violence," department spokesman Marc Raimondi said in a statement. "NGO" is an acronym for "non governmental organisation."
Wednesday's summit comes amid prolonged tensions between Silicon Valley and the Obama administration. Those strains were exacerbated by the legal standoff between Apple and the Justice Department that erupted last week over access to an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino killers, Syed Rizwan Farook.
Apple gave no additional details about its attendance.
The meeting is the second in as many months between Silicon Valley executives and senior administration officials to discuss how companies can clamp down on violent content.
But the interest goes beyond content removal. Several agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, have worked recently to involve tech companies such as Facebook, Muslim community groups and university students to create "positive" content to dissuade people from joining violent extremist groups.
Several social media firms have responded to pressure from the White House and lawmakers who have urged more cooperation over the past year.
A study released last week by George Washington University's Program on Extremism found the ISIS was witnessing "diminishing returns" on Twitter amid a heightened crackdown against the extremist group's army of digital proselytizers.
© Thomson Reuters 2016