Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron will next month co-chair a meeting in Paris aimed at addressing how social media plays a part in promoting terrorism.

The meeting on May 15 – two months after the Christchurch terror attacks which claimed the lives of 50 people – aims to see world leaders and tech company bosses agreed to the 'Christchurch call' – a pledge to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

The Prime Minister told Mike Yardley that she thinks the vast majority of New Zealanders would agree that the live streaming of the Christchurch mosque attacks should never have been allowed to happen.

“Everyone supports a free and secure internet. Where there is no argument is that violent extremist content has absolutely no place online. 

“One of the principles we will maintain is a free, open secure internet. That will be one of the principals. Violent, extremist content online, the type of thing we saw on the 15^th March, that is what we are going after.”

Ardern called on leaders of tech companies to help achieve the goal of eliminating extremism online at the Christchurch Summit in Paris.

"We all need to act, and that includes social media providers taking more responsibility for the content that is on their platforms, and taking action so that violent extremist content cannot be published and shared."

Ardern spoke specifically about Facebook, saying it is critical that it is not perverted as a tool for terrorism.

Instead, she said, Facebook should become part of what she called a global solution to countering extremism.

"This meeting presents an opportunity for an act of unity between governments and the tech companies."

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The accused Christchurch mosque gunman livestreamed 17 minutes of the attack on Facebook and the social media giant has been criticised for failing to prevent the footage being reshared on its site.