'More work to do,' says PM as Facebook bans white nationalist content

March 28, 2019

The move, in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attack, is a good first step but more can be done, the Prime Minister replied.

There is more work to do on limiting hate content online, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, after Facebook moved today to prohibit white nationalism and white separatism content. 

"Arguably, these categories should always have fallen within their community guidelines of hate speech," the PM siad today.

"Nevertheless, it’s positive the clarification has now been made in the wake of the attack here in Christchurch."

The accused shooter posted a live streamed video to Facebook showing the mosque attack in real time. Facebook was criticised for how long it took to detect the video and take it down.  

The international community needs to work collaboratively to find “meaningful solutions” to the issue, Jacinda Ardern said.

Ms Ardern said today that change needs to be on a global scale, and "New Zealand has a role to play in this debate and in much needed reform. 

"I still think there is a conversation to be had with the international community whether or not enough has been done," she said. 

"There are lessons to be learnt here in Christchurch and we don’t want to have to learn those lessons over again."

She said the Australian government is looking to introduce legislation that would impose penalties around social media companies if they do not restrain the spread of extremist material.

CNN Correspondent Donie O’Sullivan gives his analysis of the company’s move.

The Prime Minister said a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will be held after the National Remembrance Service tomorrow and she will also meet with their Opposition leader, Bill Shorten.

"Ireland, Germany and others have also looked to put in place measures to address harmful content, which reflects the broader international community’s view that more needs to be done to resolve the problem we face while preserving a free, open and secure internet."

She said she was focused on working "collabouratively to find meaningful solutions”, and the solution would need to be global.

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