Some of the world’s leading tech firms have pledged to fight online extremism after signing an agreement today dubbed the “Christchurch Call to Action.”

Spearheaded by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the plan was introduced at a summit in Paris Wednesday where governments and industry leaders met. Countries and companies agreed to combat the spread of extreme content online, promote ethical standards of reporting of such issues and take appropriate steps when such content has been disseminated.

Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc., Google LLC, Microsoft Corp. and Twitter Inc. as well as other tech firms signed the agreement.

“The terrorist attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March were a horrifying tragedy,” the five companies wrote in a joint statement. “And so it is right that we come together, resolute in our commitment to ensure we are doing all we can to fight the hatred and extremism that lead to terrorist violence.”

Those companies agreed to adhere to a nine-point action plan, which in a nutshell means they will create more stringent policies regarding codes of conduct online, creating better ways to report extreme content and take it down faster with better detection technology. This is especially important with livestreamed content.

The companies also agreed to publish transparency reports regarding detection and removal as well as collaborate with governments, educational institutions and nongovernmental organizations to tackle the problem. They also will introduce “Crisis Protocols” to ensure relevant information appears online, educating the public about extremist violent content online and “to challenge hate and promote pluralism and respect online.”

Sixteen countries so far have signed the agreement, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France and Japan, although the U.S. did not sign. The White House said it agreed with the underlying message, but was not in a position to endorse the agreement.

“We continue to be proactive in our efforts to counter terrorist content online while also continuing to respect freedom of expression and freedom of the press,” said the Trump administration. “Further, we maintain that the best tool to defeat terrorist speech is productive speech, and thus we emphasize the importance of promoting credible, alternative narratives as the primary means by which we can defeat terrorist messaging.”

Image: Facebook