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Facebook calls for new internet regulations after New Zealand massacre

Sunday, 31 March 2019 6:24 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 31 March 2019 6:29 PM ]

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (file photo by AFP)

Facebook has called on governments to play a “more active role” in establishing new rules and regulations that govern the internet and protect people from harmful content.

The social media company's director Mark Zuckerberg made the appeal in an article published by the Washington Post on Saturday.

"I believe we need a more active role for governments and regulators,” Zuckerberg said. “By updating the rules for the internet, we can preserve what’s best about it — the freedom for people to express themselves and for entrepreneurs to build new things — while also protecting society from broader harms.”

The Facebook chief proposed that new regulations were needed in four areas, including harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.

"It’s impossible to remove all harmful content from the internet, but when people use dozens of different sharing services — all with their own policies and processes — we need a more standardized approach," Zuckerberg said.

“External regulations, however, could help establish baselines for what content is harmful rather than leaving various social media platforms and services to set their own different standards,” he added.

PressTV-Facebook bans white nationalism, separatism

Facebook bans white nationalism/separatism, amid an outcry that came after a white supremacist live-streamed his attacks on two mosques in New Zealand on the social media platform.

The CEO of the tech giant also stressed that there should be "clear rules" set "about who's responsible for protecting information when it moves between services."

The mechanism "shouldn't require data to be stored locally, which would make it more vulnerable to unwarranted access," Zuckerberg said. "And it should establish a way to hold companies such as Facebook accountable by imposing sanctions when we make mistakes."

"The rules governing the Internet allowed a generation of entrepreneurs to build services that changed the world and created a lot of value in people’s lives. It’s time to update these rules to define clear responsibilities for people, companies and governments going forward," Zuckerberg concluded.

Facebook announced earlier this week a ban on "praise, support and representation of white nationalism and white separatism," which the social media giant said would be enforced over the next few days.

The statement came after Facebook live-streaming was used during the 15 March attacks on two Muslim mosques in New Zealand, which claimed the lives of 50 worshipers.

The video footage sparked a backlash from civil rights groups claiming that Facebook had failed to tackle extremism.

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