New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Is Forcing World To Toughen Laws On Online Extremist Content

After the Christchurch mass shooting back in March, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was livid.

She blasted social media companies for not doing enough to both block the hate speech that fueled the attack or the livestream of the deadly shooting.

Ardern is preparing for a global offensive against social media websites, one that would bring the fight directly to the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

Images courtesy: Reuters

'Christchurch Call' is Ardern's global movement to compel large Internet platforms to take preemptive action against extremist content. She's reportedly meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron this week to discuss an agreement for the campaign. Internal sources told the New York Times that the new regulations will ask "social media giants to examine the software that directs people to violent content, and to share more data with government authorities and each other to help eradicate toxic online material."

The agreement will supposedly be up for signing during the Group of 7 nations meeting of digital ministers this week, also to be held in Paris.

According to the report, a number of nations have agreed to sign the draft, including, Australia Britain, Canada, Jordan, Senegal, Indonesia, Norway and Ireland. Tech companies are also being invited to sign the pledge, with Facebook and Microsoft expected to. Other major companies have remained silent on their support or lack of it. The US meanwhile, which has recently been hesitant to police hate speech online, citing freedom of speech, will not sign on.

To clarify, this isn't a binding agreement, there's no way to police this sort of thing across international borders. It is however a way for nations and tech companies to show that they're taking the problem seriously. And though Ardern can't necessarily use non-compliance with this to dole out fines and the like in New Zealand, it will probably play a huge part in things like regulations, subsidies, and local operations in the wake of the mass shooting.

It's the fault of tech companies a pledge like this is needed in the first place. They have consistently failed to police their own platforms. Facebook violations of hate speech and the like usually go unseen, despite user reports. Twitter meanwhile actively encourages it by defending the freedom of speech of demagogues, trolls, and abusers. Yet it's unclear just how much will change when they sign a piece of paper with the regulatory power of a wet napkin.

At the very least governments signing the pledge have a call to action to pass stronger laws against violent extremist content online. New Zealand has already done this in the wake of the shooting, for instance by making the possession or sharing of the gunman's video a crime..

"Engagement within such a short time frame is a big ask," Ardern told the Herald. "We're really pleased with the turnout... We will continue to seek support from others. This is a start. We will then continue engagement and seek additional signatories to the call."