Fireside with Paul Ash: Platform Power and the Christchurch Call
In this week's Fireside Chat, I sat down with Paul Ash, Chief Executive of the Christchurch Call. The Call was established in the wake of the 2019 terrorist attack at the Christchurch mosques—a tragedy that was not only livestreamed but amplified by global platforms. The Call’s mission is clear: to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online, and to ensure that the internet is not used as a tool for radicalisation and harm.
What stood out in this conversation was Paul’s unflinching focus on the role of platforms—not just as neutral infrastructure but as active players in shaping what people see, believe, and sometimes act on. “They’re not just the pipes,” Paul said, “they're the curators of the content.” And with that curatorial power comes responsibility.
Paul spoke of a fractured information environment, one where algorithmic amplification and content virality often override community safety and democratic values. We discussed the difficult balance between free expression and public safety, and why it’s time for governments—ours included—to stop treating online harm as someone else’s problem. If platforms profit from engagement, they must be accountable for the harms driven by their design choices.
This isn’t about censorship—it’s about smart, rights-respecting regulation. The Christchurch Call has brought governments and tech companies together to set voluntary standards and shared accountability.
The Christchurch Call isn’t a silver bullet. But it is one of the few efforts globally that is trying to build consensus and momentum for coordinated action on platform accountability. And as Paul reminded us, what we allow online has real-world consequences.
This is the second in our series on platform regulation. Our Fireside Chat with Andrew Cushen on the Code can be found here.
Disclaimer - Paul had video challenges with zoom so while he’s an animated character at the start, it’s a still image for the latter half of this, so feel free to listen like a podcast.
