The Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG) hosted Anti-Abuse Working Group (AAWG) representatives from Japan, Africa, and Latin America for an hour-long Engagement Series event this past October 2023. The event was designed to explain each group’s mission and provide an update on their current initiatives.
M3AAWG supports special initiatives and partnerships that will make a significant difference in fighting online abuse. The regional AAWGs are:
- African Anti-Abuse Working Group (AF-AAWG)
- Japan Anti-Abuse Working Group (JP-AAWG)
- Latin American and Caribbean Anti-Abuse Working Group (LAC-AAWG)
M3AAWG’s Growth and Development Committee oversees these partnerships and Co-Chair Dennis Dayman stressed the significance of collaborating with global partners to combat online abuse on all platforms.
“This is not just what’s happening with, or within, the United States, but working with others around the world because as we know it today, the internet doesn’t understand bounds, right? It is a global community effort. And so part of the work that we do within growth and development is to work on creating partnerships that help others…our mission is to help collaborate, lead and facilitate any sort of alignment and support for the execution of all the anti-abuse best practices through this global network,” said Dayman.
African Anti-Abuse Working Group (AF-AAWG)
Founded in 2020, AF-AAWG serves as a convening forum for operators in the African Internet service region. AF-AAWG fosters dialog among experts in the African region on abuse, with the objective of documenting these threats and developing anti-abuse best practices to mitigate the immediate threats, and, ideally, remediate the sources of those threats.
AF-AAWG’s current initiatives are focused on facilitating communication and cooperation among African countries, organizations, and peering points to communicate threats and provide mitigation tactics.
Japan Anti-Abuse Working Group (JP-AAWG)
JP-AAWG was formed in 2018 and is an industry working group for safety and security of the internet and telecommunications. JP-AAWG’s goal is to collaborate with government, academia, and other related organizations in the fight against online abuse and includes 20 member companies, as well as activities in cooperation with related major companies (mobile and telecommunications carriers).
JP-AAWG wrapped up their 6th General Meeting in Kanawaza, Japan, Nov. 6-7, 2023. M3AAWG Expert Advisor, Severin Walker, and M3AAWG member Steve Jones gave the keynote speeches.
Latin American and Caribbean Anti-Abuse Working Group (LAC-AAWG)
LAC-AAWG was established in 2017. It is a working group within the Latin American and Caribbean Network Operators Group (LACNOG). The main audience is the Latin American and Caribbean Network Operators Community (LACNIC) with the goal of creating awareness regarding network and internet abuse issues and fosters adoption of anti-abuse best practices.
Highlights from LACNIC40–LACNOG 2023 (October 2023) were provided during the engagement.
M3AAWG members can watch the recorded event on the M3AAWG Engagement Series under Previous Recorded Sessions.
For M3AAWG members who want more information about the AAWGs, explore the Outreach page on the M3AAWG website or contact the Growth and Development Committee.