TCAP support for the Christchurch Call to Action
We are happy to announce that from now on, we will support the Christchurch Call to Action by alerting material related to the perpetrator to tech companies when we find it on their platforms.
Two years ago today, on 15 May 2019, several governments and tech companies led by New Zealand and France signed the Christchurch Call to Action in Paris. The call sets out a list of promises that government and online service providers commit to together, to counter terrorist use of the internet.
The Call received its name from the Christchurch mosque attack where a far-right terrorist killed 51 people on 15 March 2019. The attacker published a manifesto online and livestreamed his attack on Facebook which due to it being recorded and uploaded by individuals subsequently led to it going viral across platforms. The Christchurch Call to Action highlighted that the attack signalled the need for a coordinated intervention from both governments and the tech sector.
We recognise the Government of New Zealand’s efforts in leading a coordinated and collective effort to counter online terrorist content whilst respecting human rights and the list of civil society organisations that support the Call through its Advisory Network. We also commend the Christchurch call for referencing proportionality and accounting for smaller tech companies’ capacity in tackling terrorist content online.
To commit to the Christchurch Call to Action, the TCAP will expand its inclusion policy to include material produced by Christchurch attack , who last year was designated by the New Zealand government. The TCAP will alert material directly produced by the attacker to tech companies, including the manifesto and copies of the livestream of the attack. In cases where content is either a direct translation, or an audio version of the manifesto, we will also alert such content to tech companies.
It is our aim that the TCAP can assist in swiftly detecting such content and counter terrorist content on the internet whilst abiding by the rule of law.
We are exploring the inclusion of materials such as manifestos produced by other terrorist perpetrators and will share more details on this over the coming months.