Jacinda Ardern steps up fight against extremist online content

Monday, 14 October 2019 09:36

New Zealand's Prime Minister has announced NZ$17 million (around AED 39 million) in funding to boost efforts to stamp out extremist content online.

The investment would be used to double the investigative, forensic, intelligence and prevention work of the Department of Internal Affairs, Jacinda Ardern announced during the press conference.

"Our online world must be a force for good where we can exchange ideas, share technology, and maintain civil liberties, while protecting New Zealanders from objectionable content," she added.

"Countering violent extremism online is an important part of our response to the March 15 terrorist attacks."

A new team of 17 people will be dedicated to tackling such content.

More from International News

US military targets IS in Syria strikes

The US military said on Saturday it carried out multiple strikes in Syria targeting ISIS as part of an operation that Washington launched in December after an attack on American personnel.
Israeli fire kills three people in Gaza, tension rises

Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians in two separate incidents across Gaza, local health authorities said, as tension rises over continued violence.
Tens of thousands protest in Minneapolis over fatal ICE shooting

Tens of thousands of people marched through Minneapolis on Saturday to decry the fatal shooting of a woman by a US immigration agent, part of more than 1,000 rallies planned nationwide over the weekend against the federal government's deportation drive.
One dead in Australian bush fires

At least one person has died in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland, police said on Sunday.