Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is continuing to use her profile on the world stage to lobby social media companies to block the publication of harmful content.
She will join French President Emmanuel Macron in co-chairing a meeting in Paris on May 15, aimed at getting government and tech leaders to agree to a pledge called the ‘Christchurch Call’ to “eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online”.
“The March 15 [Christchurch] terrorist attacks saw social media used in an unprecedented way as a tool to promote an act of terrorism and hate. We are asking for a show of leadership to ensure social media cannot be used again the way it was in the March 15 terrorist attack,” Ardern said.
“We’re calling on the leaders of tech companies to join with us and help achieve our goal of eliminating violent extremism online at the Christchurch Summit in Paris.
“We all need to act, and that includes social media providers taking more responsibility for the content that is on their platforms, and taking action so that violent extremist content cannot be published and shared.
“It’s critical that technology platforms like Facebook are not perverted as a tool for terrorism, and instead become part of a global solution to countering extremism. This meeting presents an opportunity for an act of unity between governments and the tech companies.
“In the wake of the March 15 attacks New Zealanders united in common purpose to ensure such attacks never occur again. If we want to prevent violent extremist content online, we need to take a global approach that involves other governments, tech companies and civil society leaders.
“Social media platforms can connect people in many very positive ways, and we all want this to continue.
“But for too long, it has also been possible to use these platforms to incite extremist violence, and even to distribute images of that violence, as happened in Christchurch. This is what needs to change.”
The meeting will be held alongside the ‘Tech for Humanity’ meeting of G7 Digital Ministers, and France’s ‘Tech for Good’ summit – both on May 15.
Ardern will also meet with civil society leaders on May 14 to discuss the content of the Call.
37 Comments
This should be a concern for all lovers of freedom. Governments will always use "security" to take away our freedoms.
''And when i get time,i will dedicate my self to fixing all that is wrong in NZ''
What, and pass up the chance to get a photo of baby Neve outside Notre Dame?
Like sheep to fodder isn't it?
Jacinda bows to Winston re:CGT, which should be open to critique and even ridicule and the press provides us with a Jacinda story from 2014 and one when she met Pink last September.
Some say the internet is making us smarter. I think its making most people dumber.
I'd love them to give an example of "harmful content" that they want banned from social media. Perhaps they know that if they did, it would reveal how draconian they are. Incitement to violence is already illegal in most western jurisdictions and I have no problem with that being censored (or libel for that matter, but through the courts).
However, the far left have a tendency to over-reach and label ideas that they find offensive or criticism of particular ideologies as "hate speech" that should be banned. This undermines one of the most important pillars of liberal society - freedom of expression/speech. This is how bad/dangerous ideas are exposed for what they are, and how society progresses.
Well, we are already at that place where quoting the bible is now deemed to be hate speech. Its only a small step to where any thing said that hurts someone's feelings is considered hate speech, and we're all carted off to camps for "re-education".
“It’s only words and words are all I have ......” No need to finish the lyric. No amount of surveillance, electronic, covert, tapping or whatever will catch every murderous assassin, psychopath if you like, plotting in some blasted basement under the flag, slogan, cause of whatever suits the mood of the day. It’s no easier than swatting mossies with a tennis racquet without strings. Supposedly Sri Lanka should have been on some alert. Supposedly they had some good security red lights being signalled but they were not reactive enough, and the tragedy duly unfolded. But for all of us , for our safety, home and abroad, the powers that be, must co-operate, communicate and consider everything possible everywhere possible in terms of locating and identifying these murderous organisations and identities. There can be no slackening it has to be the opposite.Personally if it helps just one little bit to keep us safer, I am prepared to risk the potential of some intrusion into my life and activities.
Anyone read the Talmud or the Koran?
They should be banned too as I reckon they're far worse.
Having abandoned substantive changes like a CGT, the leadership got back to useless posturing.
You're so right. Quel poseur.
I think Jacinda has given up all pretence of trying to appear as though Winston is not running the country. She's off to interview for her next job in international relations.
Useless. She is going to "lobby". Why is that needed ? You might suspect it's a way to sound good, but not really doing anything that might show conflict.
What is wrong with saying to Facebook et al, that if this content is shown you are cut off in New Zealand for the day, or the week, or whatever. Those platforms will soon find a way stop it. What they say is impossible, suddenly, will become possible.
We are New Zealand, we have sovereignty, we have a government. Lets use it.
And that's how we have a dictatorship. Congratulations, KH, you have sold us into slavery for such a small price.
Common sense. The idea that livestreaming the execution of 50 people and maiming of 50 more is ok in the name of freedom of speech is pretty ludicrous.
Why stop at Facebook, cut the Internet right off. And the telephone lines too. Total nationwide lock down.
"What is wrong with saying to Facebook et al, that if this content is shown you are cut off in New Zealand for the day, or the week, or whatever".
Everything is wrong with that.
Until more voters move away from NZ's essentially two party system it will mean ever more of the same old same old. Most of the NZ masses have very little idea of what is happening around our world. Leftist controlled main stream media is a disgrace both here and in much of the 'Western' world . But things are changing. The BBC has lost 56% of its UK viewers since 2014; most more recently.
The NZ media is asleep at the wheel. I wouldn't call them left or right .. just really bad at journalism.
The reason that NZ has such bad journalism is because none of the newspapers or TV can afford overseas journalists, they just don't have the money. They just copy and paste mainly form the NYTimes, CNN or Washington Post.
That's why I like interest.co.nz, not just the articles, but also the comments.
All these above are far left anti-Trump etc news media. They are totally in favour of a NWO agenda.
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but that's the way I see it.
It gives us, NZ readers/watchers, a complete different vision of what's really happening.
Just had to get that of my chest.
conspiracy theorist
While I don't agree with the the NWO stuff there is truth regarding that the Herald just repeating what the Washington Post and NYT print. However, the Hearld never use sources that give a different POV such as Fox news which has twice as many viewers as CNN and MNSBC combined. Or use non legacy media sources such as interest.co.nz or from the US the Daily Wire.
Labour are a pathetic lot, time for another election.
And National would lose anyway, because they're terrible.
Please don't comment on my posts until you understand there are more than two political parties in NZ.
To be clear, this is not about stopping terrorists. Its about how best to cover them up. Terrorists dont use Facebook etc before they strike, only afterwards to disseminate their actions to the masses. ISIS use Telegram, white supremacists use Gab. Terrorists have already been pushed off the mainstream social media platforms and now lurk in the shadows of the blockchain and websites like the chans. Perhaps Western leaders time would be better spent trying to find ways to identify and track terrorists before they commit acts of terror, instead of cleaning up after them. But its far easier to pose in public and say you are doing something with Facebook, than it is to actually start hunting down Muslim extremists and neo-nazis.
If only the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior had been planned on social media.....
Well Pearl Harbour was planned, and the Americans were tapping into it. Plenty of red flags. Even sinking a sub hours beforehand. Still it happened. People are just no good at thinking about the unthinkable. Incoming missile alert recently in Hawaii, did not raise spectacular alarm on the streets. Oh someone must have pressed the wrong button. Terror attacks, as with earthquakes, everyone knows all about it, after they happen.
Sometimes people let things happen too.
Christchurch horror was streamed on Facebook Live. Hardly a secretive channel.
But his Facebook and Twitter account was set up only 2 days beforehand for the sole purpose of doing that. But the years of thinking, discussing and planning the attack took place elsewhere. In this case, 8chan.
No, because it is so important that mass murderers should be able to live broadcast their deeds for all to see as they wish.
I am just shaking my head at the comments before mine.
Whether Ardern & Macron can actually achieve anything remains to be seen. But here's a reminder of why this issue's on the agenda - https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/387659/girl-shot-in-christchurch-mosque-attack-shows-signs-of-progress
You can always choose not to watch. Just like people choose to not go watch kiddy porn, or videos of Muslim extremists beheading people, or animals being tortured. Are you so absent a moral compass that you need the Government to decide for you what you can watch?
Same here PA. And what I find extremely worrying is that if our perpetrator had been only a quarter of what he thought he was in terms of logistical ability, secrecy and making good his escape, he might have gone on to repeat another day. Heck President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the civil war and the surveillance, intercepts, etc etc were wide reaching, intrusive and drastic. Whether we like it or not, we with the rest of the world are in a war with international terrorism. If you have to fight fire with fire so be it, and anything else as well that works, whatever it takes. There is no option other than to play the long odds.
I suppose it depends whether you prefer to have access to the actual true events and facts from which to draw your own conclusions or are satisfied with the the delayed, politically sanitized and message modified reports as presented through the approved channels, complete with the appropriate expressions of disgust and outrage to save you thinking about it. Just like China really.
Her publicists have identified an opportunity to patch up damage to the Ardern brand from the CGT debacle. They need to portray her as actually advocating, given her recent damning silence on CGT while political risk existed. Most thinking Kiwis identified her jumping on the Aussie Folau story show as opportunistic profile promotion and saw her quixotic tilt at a vaguely purported accusation she was meddling in the crusaders name issue the same way. So she needs some points with middle NZ and upticks in her social media world. Even if she doesn't realise it, her advisers will be well aware this is a doomed crusade. The practical challenges of identifying the vile poison in sufficient time to prevent its propagation, are insurmountable. Even in totalitarian states where the government has significant resources to filter material and punish offenders the approach is to shut down providers, even at huge economic cost. Which is clearly not acceptable in a democracy.
The irony is that her voter base don't even use Facebook these days, other than to maintain a bit of communication with their parents LOL
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.