Facebook warned by New Zealand advertisers in wake of Christchurch massacre

Call for Facebook to explain why it can match consumers and ads instantly but not block horrific livestreams.

A student pays his respects at a park outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch. Picture: AP

New Zealand’s peak body for advertisers called for Facebook and other social media platforms to “immediately” moderate hate content, warning that business were increasingly sensitive to supporting outlets that did take responsibility for what is published on their sites.

Association of New Zealand Advertisers chief executive Lindsay Mouat said social media sites had a responsibility to effectively moderate content on their sites, following the live streaming of last Friday’s terror attacks on two Chirstchurch mosques that killed 50 people.

“Businesses are now asking if they wish to be associated with platforms unable or unwilling to take responsibility for content on those sites,” Mr Mouat said in a post on his LinkedIn page.

“Events in Christchurch raise the question: if the site owners can target consumers with advertising in microseconds, why can’t the same technology be applied to prevent this kind of content being streamed live?”

Mr Mouat’s comments are the latest in a tide of criticism for the role social media played in broadcasting the terror attack live to an international audience. Facebook said yesterday it had removed 1.5 million copies of the video and was continuing to work with authorities to find and remove other copies. Google has removed thousands of copies after the video was uploaded to its YouTube video sharing site.

“If the site owners can target consumers with advertising in microseconds, why can’t the same technology be applied to prevent this kind of content being streamed live?”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and opposition Leader Bill Shorten have also questioned whether the live streaming service can continue to be used safely and criticised the platforms for their inability to moderate content.

Mr Mouat said that advertising funded social media, and that both ANZA and the Commercial Communications Council wanted to encourage all advertisers to recognise they had choices about where their ad dollars were spent and, to consider where their ads appeared.

“We challenge Facebook and other platform owners to immediately take steps to effectively moderate hate content before another tragedy can be streamed online,” Mr Mouat said.

“ANZA and the Comms Council will collaborate on what more can be done by advertisers, agencies and platform owners to reduce the chance of this happening again.”