雙語社評齊齊聽

[英語 (足本收聽)] Presented by Mr TANG, Calvin Yiu-san, Lecturer of Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

[普通話 (足本收聽)] Presented by Dr CHOI, Wai-yuk, Lecturer of Hong Kong Community College, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

At the Christchurch Call Summit held in Paris, France last week, 17 countries and the EU as well as technology giants joined an action plan initiated by New Zealand to "eliminate terrorism and violent extremism online". The framework agreement of the summit includes accelerating research into and development of technical solutions to prevent the upload of violent extremist content online and to detect and immediately remove it; providing greater transparency in the setting of community standards or terms of service; and reviewing the operation of algorithms and other processes that may drive users towards and/or amplify terrorist and violent extremist content. Meanwhile, the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, the US, approved an ordinance last week banning the use of face recognition technology by the municipal government in a bid to prevent the surveillance of citizens and privacy infringement. The two events underline the importance of finding the appropriate boundaries of and striking a balance between freedom of speech, privacy, combating crimes and fighting terrorism in the current world of rapid technological advance.

[ENG audio 1]

In the terrorist attacks that led to the death of 51 people in Christchurch, New Zealand, the suspect broadcast his killing spree live on Facebook, sending shock waves across the world. The Christchurch Call Summit was jointly initiated by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron. Aside from these two countries, seven countries including Britain, Canada, Indonesia and the EU also sent representatives to sign the pact at the summit. A further eight countries, including Australia, Germany, Japan and India, signed the pact from afar. Also present and signing the pledge were technology giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube.

[ENG audio 2]

During the summit, five companies including Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, Google and Amazon released a joint statement saying they will expressly prohibit the distribution of terrorist and violent extremist content; enhance vetting measures on live streamers to reduce the risk of disseminating terrorist and violent extremist content online; regularly publish reports regarding content that must be removed; work collaboratively to improve artificial intelligence and algorithms for detecting terrorist content and improve the capability to detect and remove terrorist and violent extremist content online. The Christchurch Call is a voluntary framework agreement that relies on the self discipline of and pledging by technology companies. An investor group made up of 55 funds worth more than NZ$ 5 trillion (about HK$25.74 trillion) will provide financial support for the pact.

[ENG audio 3]

While some criticise the authorities of mainland China for the tight grip on online speech and forcing social media like WeChat (known in China as Weixin) or Weibo to delete posts or shut down accounts, it is not advisable to adopt a double standard for actions of the same nature by Western countries. The Christchurch Call is a model initiated by the governments, pledged by the media and financed by the business. Working on a self disciplined online basis, this model is perhaps the most promising way at present of fighting terrorism and violence online. The rational and calm attitude demonstrated by the New Zealand government also deserves to be followed by other governments.

[ENG audio 4]

For the same reasons, San Francisco's move to become the first US city to ban the authorities from using face recognition also gives us food for thought. Face recognition certainly has its immense positive functions, but its infringement on personal privacy and the risk of potential leakage of personal information are also obvious. It is both a good weapon for combating crime and a double edged sword. It can be used for the good of people by enhancing livelihood and public security, but it can also be used for the surveillance of people.

[ENG audio 5]

自律維護言論自由 規限高科技保私隱

在法國巴黎上周召開的「基督城呼喚」（Christchurch Call）峰會上，17個國家和歐盟、多家科技行業巨頭加入了由新西蘭主導的「消除網絡恐怖主義和暴力極端主義」行動。峰會框架協議包括：開發防止恐怖主義、極端主義內容上傳的技術，提高檢測和刪除暴力極端內容的透明度，審查可能導致社交媒體用戶走激進道路的商業模式。另一方面，美國三藩市議會上周通過法案，禁止市政府使用人臉識別技術，以防監控民眾及侵犯私隱。兩件事突顯出，在高科技日益發達的今日世界，言論自由、個人私隱與打擊犯罪、反恐防暴之間的取捨及分寸拿揑，保持平衡。

[PTH audio 1]

在新西蘭基督城造成51人死亡的恐襲事件中，疑犯施襲的同時於facebook上直播實况，引起全球震撼。「基督城呼喚」峰會由新西蘭總理阿德恩和法國總統馬克龍連袂發起，除新西蘭和法國外，英國、加拿大、印尼等7國和歐盟均派員與會並簽署峰會協議，澳洲、德國、日本、印度等8國雖未與會，亦簽署了協議，與會並簽署協議的還有亞馬遜、facebook、Google、微軟、Twitter和YouTube等科企巨擘。

[PTH audio 2]

峰會期間，微軟、Twitter、facebook、Google和亞馬遜等5家公司發表了聯合聲明，稱將明確禁止恐怖主義和暴力極端內容；加強檢查直播者的身分，以減低網上傳播恐怖主義和暴力極端內容的風險；定期發布必須刪除的內容報告；共同努力改進人工智能和發現恐怖主義內容的程式，提高檢測和刪除恐怖主義、暴力極端內容的能力。「基督城呼喚」協議是一個自願參與的框架，在防範極端主義和恐怖主義內容方面，全靠科技公司的自律和承諾，一個包括55隻基金、規模達5萬億紐元（約25.74萬億港元）的投資團體，將為協議提供財務支持。

[PTH audio 3]

當人們批評中國內地當局嚴控網上言論，強迫微信、微博等社交媒體刪帖封號的同時，不宜對西方國家政府的同類性質作為採取「雙重標準」。「基督城呼喚」峰會這類由政府推動、媒體承諾、企業資助的網上自律模式，應是目前值得期待的網上反恐防暴方式，而新西蘭政府對此事的理性冷靜取態，亦值得各國政府效法。

[PTH audio 4]

基於同樣的理由，三藩市可能成為全美首個禁止政府使用人臉識別技術的城市也令人深思。人臉識別的正面作用無疑是巨大的，但它對個人私隱的侵害以及對個人資料泄漏帶來的風險，也是顯而易見的。它是滅罪利器，又是一柄雙刃劍，可以造福民生治安，也可以用來監控民眾。

[PTH audio 5]

明報社評2019.05.20