
New Zealand and France are convening world leaders and tech giants to end the use of social media platforms for organizing and promoting terror acts. The meeting, co-chaired by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron, will take place in Paris on May 15, the New Zealand government has announced.
The meeting was prompted by the March terror attack on mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, and aims to get tech giants pledge to "eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online," a statement says.
Social networks were also blocked in Sri Lanka after Sunday's attacks, with the government citing "false reports." Facebook and Whatsapp continued to be unavailable on Wednesday, say CNN staffers on the ground.
Ardern has urged tech companies to get on board with the initiative:
The March 15 terrorist attacks saw social media used in an unprecedented way as a tool to promote an act of terrorism and hate. We are asking for a show of leadership to ensure social media cannot be used again the way it was in the March 15 terrorist attack.
We’re calling on the leaders of tech companies to join with us and help achieve our goal of eliminating violent extremism online at the Christchurch Summit in Paris.