Christchurch call - France and NZ take action to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online [fr]

On 15 May 2019, President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern co-hosted the Christchurch Call summit in Paris. This call aims at eliminating terrorist and violent extremist content online.

Initiated by New Zealand and France on 15 May 2019 in Paris, the Christchurch call was at the heart of the third day of the 2020 Paris Peace Forum.

One virtual debate introduced by Prime Minister Ardern and entitled Christchurch Call - Defining the next steps collectively took place on 13 November 2020.

You can access the full video below:

France and New Zealand are working together on preventing internet from being exploited by terrorists and violet extremists:

New Zealand and France are united and stand with resolve in our goal to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. Together #ChristchurchCall supporters have made significant progress, but there’s more we can do https://t.co/42a2gn3udW pic.twitter.com/pArhQMc6Uk

— New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (@MFATNZ) November 13, 2020

On 15 March 2019, people looked on in horror as, for 17 minutes, a terrorist attack against two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, was live streamed. 51 people were killed and 50 injured and the live stream was viewed some 4,000 times before being removed.

This terrorist attack made clear once again the harms that can be caused by terrorist and violent extremist content online, a threat that continues to evolve. The attack was livestreamed, went viral and remains available on the web despite the measures taken to remove it.

Two months later to the day, on 15 May 2019, New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, and French President, Emmanuel Macron brought together Heads of State and Government and leaders from the tech sector to adopt the Christchurch Call.

The Christchurch Call is a commitment by Governments and tech companies to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. It rests on the conviction that a free, open and secure internet offers extraordinary benefits to society. Respect for freedom of expression is fundamental. However, no one has the right to create and share terrorist and violent extremist content online.

To create a world safe online and offline, France and New Zealand are taking action!

President Emmanuel Macron said:

’’We must build a free, open and safe Internet, which makes it possible for everyone to share, learn and innovate, but also allows us to uphold our values, protect our fellow citizens and give them a sense of responsibility.’’

Prime Minister Ardern said:

’’From here, I will work alongside others signed up to the Christchurch Call to bring more partners on board, and develop a range of practical initiatives to ensure the pledge we have made today is delivered.’’

New Zealand and France will present the Christchurch Call to other countries and companies and take forward these objectives in other international fora. We shall have a further meeting this year, during the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level segment, where we hope significant progress will be made in this area.

The Call was adopted by France, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Jordan, Norway, the United Kingdom, Senegal, Indonesia, the European Commission and by Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Qwant, Twitter, YouTube and DailyMotion. Other countries, including Australia, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden have also lent their support to the Call.