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New Zealand PM targets online hate after mosque attacks
WELLINGTON, May 13, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – New Zealand’s leader Jacinda Arden
will demand action to curb online extremism, citing the worst mass killing in
her country’s recent history at a summit of world leaders and tech firms in
Paris Wednesday.
A self-described white supremacist killed 51 Muslims in the Christchurch
mosque attacks on 15 March. During the assault the man wore a head-mounted
camera, broadcasting his actions online.
Arden has been the driving force behind the Paris summit, co-hosted with
French President Emmanuel Macron, following the tragedy.
Participants will be asked to commit to a “Christchurch Call” pledge —
named after the city — designed to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist
content online.
Ardern said the Christchurch massacre underlined “a horrifying new trend”
in extremist atrocities.
“It was designed to be broadcast on the internet. The entire event was
livestreamed… the scale of this horrific video’s reach was staggering,” she
said in an opinion piece for the New York Times.
Ardern said Facebook removed 1.5 million copies of the video within 24
hours of the attack, but she still found herself among those who
inadvertently saw the footage when it auto-played on their social media
feeds.
Since the attack, Ardern has strongly criticised tech giants for not doing
enough to combat online extremism.
Attendees at the Paris summit reportedly include heads of state or
government from Britain, Canada, Ireland, Norway, Jordan, Senegal, Indonesia.
Top executives from Twitter, Microsoft Google and Amazon will also attend.
But New Zealand media reported that Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg will not
be there — instead sending the company’s vice president of global affairs
and communications, former British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.
Running alongside the G7’s “Tech for Humanity” meeting in the French
capital, Ardern said the Christchurch Call was a voluntary code aimed to stop
terrorist content being uploaded to social media platforms.
“(We’re) asking both nations and private corporations to make changes to
prevent the posting of terrorist content online, to ensure its efficient and
fast removal and to prevent the use of live-streaming as a tool for
broadcasting terrorist attacks,” she said.
She added: “This is not about undermining or limiting freedom of speech. It
is about these companies and how they operate.”
While some — such as Zuckerberg — have called for better regulation to
address the issue, Ardern said governments could not succeed without help
from the tech sector.
“Practical outcomes are what we’re seeking from this work,” she told New
Zealand’s Newshub.
“Not just governments regulating, but actually tech companies taking
ownership and responsibility over their platforms and the technological
solutions that they hold the key to.”
Ardern said New Zealand had been “left reeling” by the Christchurch
massacre, and it wanted to prevent similar atrocities happening elsewhere.
“We have a reluctant duty of care, a responsibility that we now find
ourselves holding,” she said.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 14543 hrs