May 15, 2021 - Technology

U.S. joins international effort to curb online extremism

Jacob Knutson

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the Christchurch Call international leaders' summit on May 15.

The U.S. for the first time attended a summit on Saturday with tech giants and world leaders as part of an international effort to stop extremist violence from proliferating online while also protecting freedom of speech, AP reports.

Why it matters: The effort was created by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron in the aftermath of the 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand, shootings and deadly attacks in France that were streamed or shared on social media platforms.

Context: The effort, called the Christchurch Call, involves around 50 countries and major tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon.

The purpose of Saturday's meeting was to strengthen coordination efforts and encourage more tech companies to become involved.

What they're saying: “The existence of algorithms themselves is not necessarily the problem, it’s whether or not they are being ethically used,” Ardern said during the summit, according to AP. “And so that is probably the biggest focus for the Call community over the next year.”

“Countering the use of the internet by terrorists and violent extremists to radicalize and recruit is a significant priority for the United States,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that also stressed the importance of protecting freedom of expression and “reasonable expectations of privacy.”

Go deeper: Why domestic terrorists are so hard to police online

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U.S. joins international effort to curb online extremism

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