28 May 2021

Online threat to Māori - how robust are reporting processes?

From Nine To Noon, 9:07 am on 28 May 2021

There are concerns at how long a video threatening to slaughter Māori was accessible before it was taken down, and whether the YouTube channel it was posted to was on the radar of authorities.

In the eight-minute video a man in a Guy Fawkes or Anonymous mask threatens attacks against Māori.

Police have confirmed the matter is under investigation and say they have "strong lines of enquiry" - but won't comment further.

New legislation was drafted following the Christchurch mosque attacks to strengthen local responses to online extremist content, rather than waiting for individual platforms to remove it - and it's currently before Parliament.

But there are concerns processes for reporting threats aren't robust or clear enough and that this particular video was only removed because of the combined efforts of Māori campaigners.

Kathryn discusses this with Karaitiana Taiuru, an academic and advocate for digital Māori rights and Antony Royal, chair of Ngati Tamatera who's helped work on The Christchurch Call and was one of those who reported the video to Google.