Ardern’s challenge to lead a global solution

WELLINGTON: A bunch of fluffy words, sprinkled in stardust, or an effective global agreement between countries and tech companies that will make a meaningful difference?

That is the challenge that lies before Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as she heads to Paris tomorrow for the Christchurch Call summit next week.

Ms Ardern has made a global impression during her tenure as Prime Minister, including from appearances at Apec and cradling her daughter Neve on the floor of the UN general assembly.

But Paris will be different because, while she is cochairing the summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, it is a summit she has pushed for.

What transpires will be a reflection of her stature on the international scene, which skyrocketed in the immediate aftermath of the Christchurch terror attacks.

While the text of the call is still being negotiated, in general terms it is a commitment to stop terrorist and violent extremism content on social media platforms.

The focus is Christchurch where, on March 15, a gunman walked into Al Noor mosque and livestreamed a horrific attack from a camera on his helmet, connected to a mobile device. Fiftyone people eventually died from the events of that day, and dozens more were wounded.

Twelve minutes after the livestream ended, Facebook took down the video, but it was a notice from police, not one of its human monitors or its algorithms, that alerted Facebook to the video.

Within 24 hours, 900 variations of the video were uploaded 1.5 million times. It was designed to go viral.

Concerns have already been raised about what will come from Paris, and whether it will make any difference or even be enforceable.

Leaving social media companies to regulate themselves has not endeared them to many, and did not prevent the March 15 events.

Ms Ardern has three key events in Paris: a Voices For Action meeting with civil society members, a round table meeting with the tech companies, and the Christchurch Call summit with heads of state and the tech companies.

The first meeting will be chaired by Internet NZ chief executive and former Labour Party candidate Jordan Carter, and attended by academics, nongovernmental organisations, tech industry players and human rights advocates.

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has called for regulations to set out what is prohibited and to require companies to build systems to minimise harmful content.

But Mr Carter said it was important not to set expectations too high, and while he has not seen the draft text of the call, he was not expecting a proposal for a global regulatory framework.

He said the narrow scope focusing on violent extremism and terrorist content would help get it across the line – with New Zealand leading the charge.

‘‘This is us leading a global call to say, ‘You need to do better’. If we, as a tiny little country, can get that commitment to change, that will be important.

‘‘Presuming they say ‘yes’, the question will be how you go about doing that.’’

‘‘Part of the problem is that the AI technology is not advanced enough to capture this kind of content as it is uploaded.’’

Ms Ardern has said a global solution is needed.