World leaders, tech execs pledge to curb online violence
World leaders, tech execs pledge to curb online violence
By SYLVIE CORBET and KELVIN CHAN May 15, 2019
PARIS (AP) — A dozen countries and global tech giants
including Facebook, Google and Twitter pledged Wednesday to find ways to keep
internet platforms from being used to spread hate, organize extremist groups
and broadcast terror attacks.
World leaders led by French President Emmanuel Macron and
tech executives gathered in Paris to compile a set of guidelines dubbed the
“Christchurch Call to Action,” named after the New Zealand city where 51 people
were killed in a March attack on mosques. Part of the attack had been broadcast
live on Facebook, drawing public outrage and fueling the debate on how to
better regulate social media.
The agreement, which was drafted by the French and New
Zealand governments, aims to prevent similar abuses of the internet while
insisting that any actions must preserve “the principles of a free, open and
secure internet, without compromising human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
The call was adopted by U.S. tech companies including
Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, YouTube, along with France’s
Qwant and DailyMotion, and the Wikimedia Foundation. The countries backing it
were France, New Zealand, Britain, Canada, Ireland, Jordan, Norway, Senegal,
Indonesia and the European Union’s executive body. Several other countries not
present at the meeting added their endorsement.
The White House also said it agreed with the overarching
message of the “Christchurch Call” but did not want to endorse it.
The meeting in Paris comes at a pivotal moment for tech
companies, which critics accuse of being too powerful and resistant to
regulation. Some have called for giants like Facebook to be broken up. Europe
is leading a global push for more regulation of how the companies handle user
data and copyrighted material. The tech companies, meanwhile, are offering
their own ideas in a bid to shape the policy response.
In Wednesday’s agreement, which is not legally binding,
the tech companies committed to measures to prevent the spread of terrorist or
violent extremist content. That may include cooperating on developing
technology or expanding the use of shared digital signatures.
They also promised to take measures to reduce the risk
that such content is livestreamed, including flagging it up for real-time
review.
And they pledged to study how algorithms sometimes
promote extremist content. That would help find ways to intervene more quickly
and redirect users to “credible positive alternatives or counter-narratives.”
Facebook, which dominates social media and has faced the
harshest criticism for overlooking the misuse of consumer data and not blocking
live broadcasts of violent actions, said it is toughening its livestreaming
policies.
It’s tightening the rules for its livestreaming service
with a “one strike” policy applied to a broader range of offenses. Activity on
the social network that violates its policies, such as sharing an extremist
group’s statement without providing context, will result in the user
immediately being temporarily blocked. The most serious offenses will result in
a permanent ban.
Previously, the company took down posts that breached its
community standards but only blocked users after repeated offenses.
The tougher restrictions will be gradually extended to
other areas of the platform, starting with preventing users from creating Facebook
ads.
Facebook, which also owns Instagram and Whatsapp, said
it’s investing $7.5 million to improve technology aimed at finding videos and
photos that have been manipulated to avoid detection — a problem the company
encountered with the Christchurch shooting, where the attacker streamed the
killing live on Facebook.
“Tackling these threats also requires technical
innovation to stay ahead of the type of adversarial media manipulation we saw
after Christchurch,” Facebook’s vice president of integrity, Guy Rosen, said in
a blog post.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern welcomed
Facebook’s pledge. She said she herself inadvertently saw the Christchurch
attacker’s video when it played automatically in her Facebook feed.
“There is a lot more work to do, but I am pleased
Facebook has taken additional steps today ... and look forward to a long-term
collaboration to make social media safer,” she said in a statement.
Ardern is playing a central role in the Paris meetings,
which she called a significant “starting point” for changes in government and
tech industry policy.
The “Christchurch Call” was drafted as 80 CEOs and
executives from technology companies gathered in Paris for a “Tech for Good”
conference meant to address how they can use their global influence for public
good — for example by promoting gender equality, diversity in hiring and
greater access to technology for lower income users.
Ardern and Macron insist that the Christchurch guidelines
must involve joint efforts between governments and tech giants. France has been
hit by repeated Islamic extremist attacks by groups who recruited and shared
violent images on social networks.
Free speech advocates and some in the tech industry
bristle at new restrictions and argue that violent extremism is a societal
problem that the tech world can’t solve.
Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, a member of
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that while “a higher level
of responsibility is demanded from all of the platforms,” it is necessary to
find a way to not censor legitimate discussion.
“It’s a hard line to draw sometimes,” he said.
Kelvin Chan reported from London. Angela Charlton, Masha
Macpherson and Catherine Gaschka in Paris contributed to this report.
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