More countries to sign onto Christchurch Call against online extremism

The big picture: The pledge already has the backing of most European countries, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, along with tech companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter.

• The U.S. government has not signed on, citing First Amendment concerns.

What they're saying: "You're going to see more governments signing onto the Christchurch Call. You're going to hear about more involvement and more involvement even from our own government," Microsoft President Brad Smith said during our interview at the Churchill Club this week.

• But that doesn't mean the U.S. will become a full signatory, Smith said, when I pressed him.
• "I don't think they'll sign on a week from now, but they're engaging," he said.

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