SALVAGING FLAWED DISCOURSES SURROUNDING NZ’S ‘COUNTER-TERRORISM LEGISLATION BILL’

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11157/sites-id496

Keywords:

Christchurch Call, Social Media, Surveillance Capitalism, Extremism, Online Communities,

Abstract

Public-facing announcements from Labour minister Kris Faafoi and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern around the ‘Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill’ that that was introduced to Parliament on the 13th of April 2021 has included a number of flawed discourses that risk making the legislation less effective. The current focus on ‘lone actors’ speaks to a misunderstanding of online community dynamics within the hate-groups that motivate terror attacks. Additionally, there is little attention either in the foundational document for the ‘Christchurch Call to Action Summit’ or the discussions surrounding the ‘Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill’ of the ways that online economies drive the expansion of extremist groups and raise the odds of terrorist actions. This article will explore the background to these issues, what makes the current discursive framing from the government around the legislation problematic, and what initiatives could be concretely taken to mitigate these issues.

Author Biography

  • Kevin Veale, Massey University
    Dr Kevin Veale is a lecturer in the School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication at Massey University, and part of Massey’s Digital Culture Laboratory. He specialises in researching popular culture and storytelling, including the impacts of online abuse, and is the author of the recently published book, "Gaming the Dynamics of Online Harassment"(Palgrave Macmillan).

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Published

15-08-2022

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 1 (2021): General Issue

Section

Articles

License

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How to Cite

SALVAGING FLAWED DISCOURSES SURROUNDING NZ’S ‘COUNTER-TERRORISM LEGISLATION BILL’. (2022). Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, 18(1), 52-79. https://doi.org/10.11157/sites-id496