Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Facebook death video drama
PHUKET: A relative of the Thai baby whose murder was shown on Facebook Live earlier this week said he was too distraught and intent on getting police to the crime scene to worry about getting the horrific videos taken down.
The gruesome incident highlights how those most affected by offensive content are usually too distracted to report it to the authorities. It also exposes the challenges that live streaming content poses to both governments monitoring for offensive material on the internet and the companies that host online content.
On Monday, in an abandoned building in Phuket, 20-year-old Wuttisan Wongtalay turned on Facebook Live from his mobile phone. Then he picked up his 11-month-old daughter, tied a rope around her neck and hanged her. A second short video briefly shows her lifeless body. After that, he turned off the camera and killed himself.
For the family of Natalie Triratana, removing the videos was the last thing on their minds when they first popped up on Wuttisan’s Facebook feed at around 4.50pm.
Her mother’s cousin, Suk- san Buachanit, said he called Thailand’s 191 police hotline to ask for help locating the building. By the time police and relatives found it, it was too late.
“A local reporter told me to report it but we were all occupied at the scene,” Suksan said.
It took more than a day – and 370 000 views – before Facebook removed those few minutes of video. Thailand’s digitial ministry said it took five hours for the videos to be removed after PICTURE: REUTERS it contacted Facebook.
A Facebook statement called the incident “appalling” and said there was “absolutely no place for content of this kind” on the network. It did not respond to questions as to why it took so long to remove.
This week, Thailand’s national telecoms regulator ordered all internet service providers to block web content deemed illegal by the courts within a week or have their licences revoked. – Reuters