New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attends a news conference after meeting with first responders who were at the scene of the Christchurch mosque shooting, in Christchurch, New Zealand. File photo/ Reuters

WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that she welcomed Facebook Inc's decision to ban praise, support and representation of white nationalism and white separatism on its social media platforms.

“Arguably these categories should always fall within the community guidelines of hate speech, but nevertheless it's positive the clarification has now been made in the wake of the attack in Christchurch,” she said at a press conference.

Facebook's ban was a shift in policy after criticism by civil rights groups that it was failing to confront extremism.

Ardern said 59 countries will send diplomatic representatives to a national remembrance service on Friday.

Reuters