Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that his government will block social media services and websites that host violent content on their platforms during crisis events.
Prime Minister Morrison, who is in France to take part in the Group of Seven summit, said the measures were needed in response to the deadly terror attack in Christchurch in March 2019. The live-streamed murder of 51 worshippers "demonstrated how digital platforms and websites can be exploited to host extreme violent and terrorist content," he said.
Canberra will also consider putting in place legislation to force digital platforms to improve the safety of their digital services.
Prime Minister Morrison is atteding the G7 summit as a special invitee of French President Emmanuel Macron to the leaders gathering that usually comprises France, Germany, the UK, Italy the US, Canada and Japan.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner would work with tech giants to finalse a plan of action by the end of September. Penalties associated with the hosting and distribution of malicious content is expected to emerge in the coming months.
"We are doing everything we can to deny terrorists the opportunity to glorify their crimes," he said in a statement.
"That type of abhorrent material has no place in Australia, and we are doing everything we can to deny terrorists the opportunity to glorify their crimes, including taking action locally and globally."
The governemnt will set up a new 24/7 Crisis Coordination Centre to monitor terror-related incidents and extremely violent events for censorship.
After the Christchurch attack took place, Australia set up a task force with global tech giants like Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, Microsoft and Twitter to address the spread of extremist material online.
