Hillary Clinton wants tech companies to help ‘disrupt’ ISIS. What does that even mean?

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called on tech companies to help "disrupt" the Islamic State online in the wake of the mass shooting in San Bernardino (CA). Clinton said that ISIS is “using web sites, social media, chat rooms and other platforms to celebrate beheadings, recruit future terrorists and call for attacks,” and asked Silicon Valley to crack down on the terror group. The United States needs to hold an “urgent dialogue” with companies such as Google, Twitter and Facebook, said Clinton, and discuss how those “ubiquitous sites” could help keep ISIS quiet online.

Clinton’s remarks largely avoided one particular controversial aspect of technology and counterterrorism: the use of encryption to shield online communications from prying eyes. Some US officials want tech firms to build their systems in ways that would make it easier for authorities to snoop on those secret messages. But Silicon Valley companies such as Apple have pushed back, arguing that the use of “back doors” could also give malicious hackers an easier way to steal innocent users’ personal information. “It's more complicated with some of what [ISIS does] on encrypted apps,” said Clinton, “and I'm well aware of that. That requires even more thinking.”