CHRISTCHURCH CALL AS A NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT POLICY IN FIGHTING TERRORIST AND VIOLENT EXTREMIST CONTENT ONLINE AFTER THE 2019 CHRISTCHURCH MASS SHOOTING INCIDENT

Abstract

An act of terrorism is an act that threatens the security and peace of the state and creates fear in society. The terrorist act in the form of a mass shooting occurred at the Al Noor mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand at 13.40, March 15, 2019. After the shooting, Brenton Tarrant was detained by Christchurch police to be tried further with these charges and was charged with 51 counts of murder, 40 attempted murders, and one count of acts of terrorism which left him in prison for life without appeal or release. The shooting action carried out by the perpetrator was accompanied by the use of social media to spread the act of terrorism. The use of the internet provides the potential for other extremist actions, the New Zealand government has made a policy regarding this problem. After the terrorist attacks, the government made a policy as a response to combating acts of terrorism, namely the formation of the Christchurch Call to Action which was pioneered by New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, after the Christchurch mosque shootings on March 15, 2019. This paper examines what underlies the formation of the Christchurch Call to Action as part of the policy to combat terrorist and violent extremist content online by the New Zealand government and will discuss how the mass shooting incident in Christchurch became a thre at to global security. The use of the internet provides the potential for other acts of terror, therefore the government needs to make policies related to this security issue. Christchurch Call to Action is expected to bring problems closer to resolution by utilizing more parties who will jointly realize goals to 'unite countries and technology companies to end the ability to use social media to organize and promote terrorism and violent extremism'. The formation of the action plan is because there is a common security threat for all parties who take part in the cooperation by establishing a safe and free and open internet. This cooperation is the result of changes in security in the digital era that shape interactions between actors in dealing with a global security.