Issued on: 15\/05\/2021 - 16:56<\/p>\n
The leaders of France and New Zealand warned that social media continued to be a driving force to propagate hate, two years after a white supremacist live-streamed the killing of 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch. <\/p>\n
President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern were speaking Friday at a virtual summit, co-hosted by their countries, aimed at battling extremist content on the internet.<\/p>\n
Ardern said efforts to stamp out the spread of harmful content would need to stem from a better understanding of the social media algorithms driving suchcontent.<\/p>\n
The existence of algorithms themselves is not necessarily the problem, it's whether or not they are being ethically used, she said, adding that tech companies had shown a real desire to use algorithms for positive interventions.<\/p>\n
Macron said the internet had been used as a tool in recent attacks in the US, Austria, Germany and elsewhere adding that new European regulations against extremist content would help coordination efforts.<\/p>\n
In a post on Twitter, he saidit was up to \"democracies and defenders of freedoms\" to find the solutions that would enable afree and secure internet.<\/p>\n
Widespread support<\/p>\n
More than 50 countries have joined the initiative, known as the Christchurch Call,along with tech giants including Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and Amazon.<\/p>\n
The United States gave its support earlier this week in a shift in policy that cametwo years after former president Donald Trump declined to participate citing concerns overfree speech. <\/p>\n
Since Christchurch Call was launched, governments and tech companies have stepped upcooperationto identify violent extremist content online.<\/p>\n
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK had taken down more than 300,000 pieces of terrorist material from the internet over the past decade.<\/p>\n
Terrorist content is like a metastasising tumour within the internet, he said in a pre-recorded video shown at the summit.<\/p>\n
If we fail to excise it, it will inevitably spread into homes and high streets the world over.<\/p>\n
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Macron, Ardern rally nations and tech giants in battle to stamp out online hate - RFI English<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Issued on: 15\/05\/2021 - 16:56 The leaders of France and New Zealand warned that social media continued to be a driving force to propagate hate, two years after a white supremacist live-streamed the killing of 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch. President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern were speaking Friday at a virtual summit, co-hosted by their countries, aimed at battling extremist content on the internet Continue reading