Christchurch Call counters copycat shooting in Germany - PM

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the Christchurch Call to Action kicked into gear immediately when the horrific shooting in Germany started being livestreamed.

The livestream was hosted by Amazon's Twitch, and Amazon signed up to the Christchurch Call two weeks ago, joining more than 50 countries and organisations, as well as seven other online platforms.

The call includes a crisis-response framework for tech companies and countries to work collaboratively to stop the spread of terrorist or violent extremist content online.

Yesterday shots were fired outside a synagogue and into a kebab shop in the eastern German city of Halle in what Germany's top security official has described it as an anti-Semitic, far-right attack.

It took place on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day.

It appeared to be conducted in a similar way to the March 15 attack; the gunman filmed the attack via a camera on his helmet, and the 35-minute video was posted to a live-streaming video platform.

He reportedly tried to force his way into the synagogue, where 70 to 80 people were, but was unable to.

Jacinda Ardern among world and business leaders as she initiated the Christchurch Call in Paris in May. Photo / AFP

Two people have been killed, and one person has been arrested.

"The assailant shot several times at the door and also threw several Molotov cocktails, firecrackers or grenades to force his way in," the head of Halle's Jewish community, Max Privorozki, told German news magazine Der Spiegel.

"But the door remained closed - God protected us. The whole thing lasted perhaps five to 10 minutes."

In New York at the UN two weeks ago, Ardern announced a series of updates to the Christchurch Call, including the new crisis-response framework that was ready for deployment.

"Of course after the 15th of March in Christchurch, we were very aware that there was every chance that that kind of streaming of such a horrific event could happen again," Ardern told reporters this morning when asked about the attack in Germany.

"The incident protocol we developed has kicked in ... as I understand straight away. Companies are talking to each other to try and stop the [video's] spread."

The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism - which includes several tech companies - is the focal point for the framework, which Ardern has described as civil defence-type co-ordinated response.

The protocol includes a shared list of country and company contacts to ensure a swift response.

It has strict actions including sharing of hashes (digital fingerprints to identify content and how to remove it), URLs, and keywords, as well as takedown measures.

It is believed that the new framework would have made a significant difference in stopping the viral spread of the March 15 footage, which was shared on Facebook 1.5 million times in the first 24 hours.

Ardern said work was also continuing to prevent such footage from being uploaded in the first place.

"[The attack in Germany] demonstrates why this is so necessary and why that work must continue. It shows why we need to work with those tech companies."

The New Zealand Jewish Council expressed condolences to the loved ones of the two people who had died.

"Given the clear parallels with the Christchurch attacks, including the attacker livestreaming the incident, we are yet again painfully reminded of the vulnerability of our community and the vital need for protection," the council said in a statement.

- with AP