'Terrorism of the Islamic State: Legal considerations and social media strategies’: The Wilberforce Society

The Wilberforce Society held presentation of a paper written by a team from the University of Cambridge, at the Roger Needham Room in Wolfson College on Wednesday 29 April 2015. Terrorism. Twitter. Arbitrary convictions. Big data. Protests. The Islamic State. Japanese parodies. Detailed analysis of legislative procedures. This paper has it all. Our authors explore the impact of recent case laws, R v Gul and R v Miranda, in the context of the UK’s Terrorism Act, which has resulted in the UK having some of the world’s most arbitrary terrorism legislation. Looking at legislative frameworks from the US and Australia, they propose ways in which the UK could improve its own framework while retaining maximum deterrent and prosecutorial efficiency. Further examining the social media techniques that the Islamic State has mastered to expand its online campaign, they explore possible counter-measures. The paper was discussed by Dr Kimberley Trapp, Public Law specialist at University College London, and former affiliated lecturer at the Cambridge Faculty of Law. During Dr Trapp's doctoral studies, she worked for Vice-President Al-Kasawneh and Judge Simma at the International Court of Justice, and she has published widely on issues relating to the use of force, state responsibility, and the interaction between International Humanitarian Law and terrorism suppression. For more information about the Wilberforce Society, see http://thewilberforcesociety.co.uk/