John Edwards calls out social media giant after Christchurch attack for refusing to accept responsibility for harm

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

New Zealand’s privacy commissioner has lashed out at social media giant Facebook in the wake of the Christchurch attacks, calling the company “morally bankrupt pathological liars”.

The commissioner used his personal Twitter page to lambast the social network, which has also drawn the ire of prime minister Jacinda Ardern for hosting a livestream of the attacks that left 50 dead, which was then copied and shared all over the internet.

“Facebook cannot be trusted,” wrote John Edwards.

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“They are morally bankrupt pathological liars who enable genocide (Myanmar), facilitate foreign undermining of democratic institutions.

“[They] allow the live streaming of suicides, rapes, and murders, continue to host and publish the mosque attack video, allow advertisers to target ‘Jew haters’ and other hateful market segments, and refuse to accept any responsibility for any content or harm.

“They #dontgiveazuck” wrote Edwards. He later deleted the tweets, saying they had prompted “toxic and misinformed traffic”.

Edwards was responding to an interview given by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to America’s ABC network, in which he failed to commit to any changes to the Facebook live technology, including a time delay on livestreams.

Zuckerberg said incidents like the live streaming of the Christchurch mosque attacks were the result of “bad actors”; not bad technology and a time delay would disrupt the enjoyment of users who broadcast events like birthday parties or group hangouts.

In a later interview with RNZ on Monday, Edwards described Zuckerberg’s comments as “disingenuous”, and said the company had refused to tell his office how many murders, suicides and sexual assaults had been broadcast using the platform.

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“It is a technology which is capable of causing great harm,” Edwards told RNZ.

Before the mosque attacks prime minister Ardern was an avid user of Facebook live, using the technology to broadcast her formal press conferences, as well as more casual, informal messages from the sofa of her Auckland home, or the kitchen of Premier House in Wellington.

The Guardian understands the prime minister’s office were considering what other platforms it could use to broadcast the prime minister’s video messages, including a separate, dedicated website, to avoid using Facebook.

The last Facebook live video posted by the prime minister was a post-cabinet press conference on March 25, and the last informal Facebook live video was a climate change discussion two days before the attack.

On Monday, Ardern said the Royal Commission inquiry into the Christchurch attack will report back to the government by 10 December 10.

The inquiry would look into the suspected gunman’s activities, use of social media and international connections, as well as whether there was “inappropriate” priority setting in state counter terrorism resources, Ardern said in a statement.