New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday that New Zealand and France will work with technology companies to crack down terrorism and extremism on social media.
The act came in the wake of the March 15 terrorist attack in New Zealand city of Christchurch.
Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron will co-chair the meeting in Paris on May 15, which aims to see world leaders and CEOs of tech companies agree on a pledge called the Christchurch Call to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.
The meeting will be held alongside the Tech for Humanity meeting of G7 Digital Ministers and France’s separate 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.
“The March 15 terrorist attack 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 told a press release Wednesday morning.
She reiterated the importance that technology platforms like Facebook should not perverted as a tool for terrorism, and instead should become part of a global solution to countering extremism.
“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,” said the prime minister.
The gunman charged with 50 murders in the Christchurch terrorist attack live broadcast the shooting online and the shooting video was massively circulated online.
