Publications
Partners
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to take up the issue of live-streaming of last week’s terrorist attacks in Christchurch directly with Facebook as the social media platform said it removed 1.5 million videos of the footage within 24 hours of the shootings.
“This is an issue that goes well beyond New Zealand but that doesn’t mean we can’t play an active role in seeing it resolved,” Ardern told reporters in Wellington Sunday. “This is an issue I will look to be discussing directly with Facebook.”
Social media platforms are facing harsher scrutiny after a shooter accused of killing 50 people live-streamed the murders, with the video widely available on a range of platforms hours after the attack. Facebook said it will also remove all edited versions of the video that do not show graphic content, according to a Twitter post citing New Zealand spokesperson Mia Garlick.
Ardern said New Zealand authorities and businesses did as much as they could to seek to have removed some of the footage, but ultimately it was up to those platforms to facilitate and support the removal.
She said she has previously met Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, who sent her a message of condolences after the attacks.
AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes closed his Facebook account and said he may shut his Twitter page, citing “hate” being transmitted on the networks.
His Facebook account had 670 000 followers and, while he is “a big fan” of social media, he had to think hard about whether to remain on Facebook after the live-streaming of the mass shooting in New Zealand, he said in a Twitter post Saturday.
