WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Tomorrow, March 4, 2025, at 2:00 PM ET, the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, led by Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX), will hold a hearing to examine how foreign terrorist organizations use the internet and emerging technology to recruit, radicalize, and inspire attacks in the homeland.

DETAILS:

What: A Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence hearing entitled “The Digital Battlefield: How Terrorists Use the Internet and Online Networks for Recruitment and Radicalization.”

When: Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at 2:00 PM ET 
 
Where: 310 Cannon House Office Building 

WITNESSES: 

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, PhD
Senior Advisor on Asymmetric Warfare, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Aaron Zelin, PhD
Senior Research Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Daniel Flesch
Senior Policy Analyst, Middle East and North Africa, Allison Center for National Security, the Heritage Foundation 

Kurt Braddock, PhD
Assistant Professor, Public Communication, American University

Witness testimony will be added here. The hearing will be livestreamed on YouTube and will be open to the public and press. Press must be congressionally credentialed and should RSVP.

BACKGROUND:
 
Last week, Chairman Pfluger introduced the “Generative AI Terrorism Risk Assessment Act,” which would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct annual assessments on terrorism threats to the U.S. posed by terrorist organizations, like ISIS and al Qaeda, utilizing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) applications for terroristic activity. 
 
Last month, Chairman Pfluger reintroduced the “Countering Online Radicalization and Terrorism Act,” legislation requiring DHS to conduct annual assessments on terrorism threats posed to the United States by terrorist organizations like ISIS, al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and others, utilizing foreign cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging applications like Telegram.

GenAI is a rapidly emerging technology that can produce numerous kinds of content, such as text, images, or audio, when prompted by a user. Foreign terrorist organizations are actively seeking ways to exploit GenAI to support a variety of violent extremist tactics, techniques, and procedures, such as using AI-powered chatbots, to interact with potential recruits. For example, just last year, a group affiliated with al Qaeda launched a workshop aimed at enhancing skills in using AI and related software. 
 
Foreign cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging applications like TikTok and Telegram have allowed their platforms to become a breeding ground for radical extremism. FTOs like Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, al Qaeda, and others frequently use these mobile and desktop applications to recruit new members, fundraise, provoke others to violence, and coordinate terrorist activity. ISIS has even urged its supporters to connect with ISIS contacts on Telegram to discuss matters like travel and plans for carrying out terrorist attacks against Americans. 

In 2023, millions of TikTok users viewed videos glorifying Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America,” which attempted to promote and justify al-Qaeda’s terrorist attack against the United States on September 11, 2001. Pro-ISIS TikTok accounts have also been found celebrating a recent attack in Paris, where a man who had allegedly videotaped a pledge of allegiance to ISIS killed a man and hurt two others using a hammer and a knife. 
 
Homeland Republicans continue to sound the alarm on heightened threats to the homeland from homegrown violent extremists inspired by foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS. 

• In a briefing earlier this year on the terrorist attack in New Orleans, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed the attacker was inspired by ISIS, but they have not found any evidence that he was directed or tasked by ISIS, or any other foreign actor. In videos posted just before the attack, the attacker pledged allegiance to ISIS ideology.
• In the wake of the attack, the Committee released an updated “Terror Threat Snapshot” assessment, highlighting the persistent terror threat to America. From April 2021 to January 2025, there were more than 50 prosecuted cases of Jihadist extremism in the U.S. 
• Last month, Committee member Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) introduced the “Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act,” legislation requiring DHS to evaluate the threat posed to the United States by individuals in Syria with ties to FTOs or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization (SDGT). Cosponsors of the legislation include Chairman Pfluger and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN). 

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