India joins global initiative to combat extremism online

India has joined a major global initiative to combat terrorism and extremism online and secure the internet. 

The initiative -- 'Christchurch call to action' --  has been named after the New Zealand city where 51 people were killed in an attack on mosques. 

It was launched in Paris yesterday by India, France, New Zealand, Canada and several other countries. 

The declaration on Christchurch call to action said a free, open and secure internet is a powerful tool by which to promote connectivity, enhance social inclusiveness and foster economic growth. 

It said the internet is, however, not immune from abuse by terrorist and violent extremist actors, and there is a need for collective efforts globally to secure the internet from terror groups. This was tragically highlighted by the terrorist attacks in Christchurch which were designed to go



viral, it said. 

The declaration said, the dissemination of such content online has adverse impacts on the human rights of the victims, on our collective security and on people all over the world.

The declaration said the Christchurch attack highlighted the urgent need for action and enhanced cooperation among the wide range of actors with influence over this issue, including governments, civil society, and online service providers, such as social media companies, to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

The event to launch of the initiative was attended by several world leaders and high-ranking officials including from India.

The initiative outlines collective, voluntary commitments from governments and online service providers intended to address the issue of terrorist and violent extremist content online and to prevent the abuse of the internet.