New Zealand Steps Up Pressure on Facebook After Mosque Shootings

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has stepped up her criticism of social media platforms in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attacks, which saw the gunman live-stream the mosque shootings on the Internet.

The government will look at the role social media played and what steps it can take, including on the international stage, Ardern said in a speech in parliament Tuesday as part of a tribute to the victims. Previously she said she will seek talks with Facebook Inc.

“We cannot simply sit back and accept that these platforms just exist and what is said is not the responsibility of the place where they are published,” she said. “They are the publisher not just the postman. There cannot be a case of all profit no responsibility.”

G-20 Urged to Crack Down on Violent Extremism on Social Media

Social media companies are facing harsher scrutiny after a lone shooter accused of killing 50 people live-streamed the murders, with the video continuing to be widely available on a range of platforms hours after the attack. Facebook said it blocked the upload of 1.2 million video clips and removed another 300,000 within 24 hours.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Withers in Wellington at twithers@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Matthew Brockett at mbrockett1@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson

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