Tech giants could face harsh penalties in wake of New Zealand shootings

New Zealand has made reposting the video of the Christchurch mosque mass shootings a crime and Australia is preparing to act against similar online content - putting social media companies involved in livestreaming the attack under the spotlight.

Faced with concerns by civil rights groups that it was not doing enough to deal with issues of extremism in the wake of the attacks, social network giant Facebook on Wednesday said it was banning "praise, support and representation of white nationalism and separatism" on its platforms.

In a news conference in Christchurch on Thursday, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was "pleased to see that they are including it, and that they have taken that step, but I still think that there is a conversation to be had with the international community about whether or not enough has been done".