Australia's major telcos have blocked websites for continuing to host horrific videos of the Christchurch massacre.
Telstra, Optus and Vodafone stopped users from going on 4chan, 8chan and Voat, the blog Zerohedge and video hosting platform Liveleak.
Popular video sharing site LiveLeak has also been reportedly blocked – although its moderators explicitly said in a statement that they would not allow the live video of the shooting to be shared there. Even the anti-establishment blog and economic news site Zero Hedge was roped in, and has been reportedly banned by some New Zealand ISPs. Mar 16, 2019 watch full Live Video of Christchurch mosque attack at New Zealand,attack in new zealand,attack in mosque,attack in masjid,new zealand attack,mosque attack,mosque.
The so-called manifesto of accused shooter Brenton Tarrant is laden with memes and references to racist, far-right political forums he may have frequented on 4chan and 8chan.
Mourners lay flowers and messages outside the mosque in the aftermath of the Christchurch shooting. Australian telcos are rushing to block websites hosting footage of the massacre
Telstra confirmed on Tuesday it had blocked access to the websites.
'We understand this may inconvenience some legitimate users of these sites, but these are extreme circumstances and we feel this is the right thing to do,' Telstra networks and IT executive Nikos Katinakis said.
Optus and Vodafone declined to name which domains they blocked but the same platforms also failed to load on their networks on Tuesday afternoon.
The ban on 4chan was lifted a few hours later.
Telstra confirmed on Tuesday it had blocked access to the websites 4chan, 8chan and Voat, the blog Zerohedge and video hosting platform Liveleak
4chan also hosts racist, far-right forums that may have been referenced in Brenton Tarrant's manifesto. Some forums have begun to idolise him after the mass shooting
Vodafone said while blocking requests normally came from the courts or law enforcement agencies 'this was an extreme case which we think requires an extraordinary response'.
'While there were discussions at an industry level about this issue, this is a decision Vodafone Australia came to independently,' a spokeswoman said in a statement.
Optus said it had blocked the domains after 'reflecting on community expectations'.
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Optus declined to name which domains they blocked but the same platforms failed to load on their networks on Tuesday afternoon
Video-hosting platform Liveleak initially hosted the video but was soon scrubbed and is no longer available in searches
Another large internet service provider, TPG, has been contacted for comment.
A spokesman for the eSafety commissioner said she did not provide 'any direction or advice to Australian ISPs in regard to the blocking of websites'.
The office does not have the authority to direct ISPs to block domains but can take action to remove content shared on Australian-hosted websites.
The commissioner is encouraging social media users to report the video and any content supporting the attacks directly to the platforms.
The alleged Christchurch terrorist is being transformed into a propaganda symbol by members of the far-right using a fascist digital art movement known as 'fashwave'.
A man reacts near his children in front of floral tributes across the road at the Masjid Al Noor mosque on Tuesday
Some sites which host the forums - such as 4chan and 8chan - have now been blocked by Australian telcos.
The capacity for semi-ironic meme culture to radicalise members of the far-right needs to be addressed, Monash University senior media lecturer Andy Ruddock says.
'There are serious customers under there doing serious work,' he told AAP.
'They're writing their own history with this - it's white, it's masculine, it's Christian and connected to the Third Reich.'
'This was an extreme case which we think requires an extraordinary response,' a Vodafone spokeswoman said. Blocking requests normally come from the courts or law enforcement
A 22-year-old from New Zealand has been arrested and charged in connection with circulating a graphic video of the mass shootings that took place at two mosques in Christchurch on Friday.
The man, who has not been named by authorities, has been formally charged under New Zealand's Films Videos and Publications Classification Act and is expected to appear in court on Monday, ABC News reported Sunday.
Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian national, allegedly carried out the Friday attacks, which left at least 50 people dead and 50 others injured, while he shared a livestream of the mass shootings to Facebook. Although the social media platform responded quickly to remove the video, others continued to re-upload the clip.
Facebook reportedly removed at least 1.5 million videos of the terrorist attack within the first 24 hours after the massacre.
'Out of respect for the people affected by this tragedy and the concerns of local authorities, we're also removing all edited versions of the video that do not show graphic content,” the social media platform said in an official statement, according to Mashable. A spokesperson also confirmed that the company is working “around the clock to remove violating content using a combination of technology and people,” in an official Twitter post.
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and local police have repeatedly called on individuals and media organizations to restrain from sharing the graphic footage. Police also said that they are not charging the 22-year-old for being directly involved with the attack.
“We would like to remind people that it is an offense to distribute or possess an objectionable publication (under the Films Videos and Publications Classifications Act 1993), which carries a penalty of imprisonment,' local police said in a statement, according to ABC News. 'The live stream video of the shootings in Christchurch has been classified by the Chief Censor's Office as objectionable,' it continued.
Sky New Zealand, which is the Pacific nation's largest satellite provider, even temporarily pulled Sky News Australia off the air after it repeatedly showed a portion of the video.
“We stand in support of our fellow New Zealanders and have made the decision to remove Sky News Australia from our platform until we are confident that the distressing footage from yesterday's events will not be shared,” the provider said in a since-deleted weekend tweet.
A replacement tweet was later posted, saying that it had made the decision with Sky News Australia “to replace their live news with sport.”
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