Why DID Facebook wait 3 hours to block clip of man being shot dead?
FACEBOOK has been criticised for taking three hours to remove a video showing a man shooting dead an elderly passer-by in the US.
Police were yesterday hunting gunman Steve Stephens, 37, who boasted he had killed more than a dozen others and warned: ‘I won’t stop.’
In posts and videos on his Facebook page, the mental healthcare manager said he was ‘messed up’, blaming the violence on ex-girlfriend Joy Lane.
One 30-second video showed Stephens boasting about a ‘massacre’ before getting out of his car and confronting Robert Godwin, 74.
He demanded the retired foundry worker repeat ‘Joy Lane’ before warning him: ‘She is the reason why this is about to happen to you.’
The elderly man shielded his face as Stephens raised a gun and shot him dead.
Stephens then posted the video on Facebook to his Facebook page at 2pm local time on Sunday– but it was three hours before it was taken down.
Yesterday, MPs criticised the social media giant for taking far too long to remove the ‘horrific’ video – particularly as the firm was already under scrutiny for similar failings.
It comes a week after it was revealed Facebook had refused to remove child pornography and gruesome terror videos showing mass executions.
Stephens, who had filed for bankruptcy, said in his online posts that casinos and a lack of self-control had caused him to ‘lose everything’.
In one, Stephens boasted he had already killed 12 people and later claimed he had killed three more, but police said they were aware of only one victim. In another, he warned that he would not stop unless Miss Lane or his mother called him. His mother Maggie Green said she had last seen him on Saturday when he told her: ‘If you see me again, it’ll be a miracle.’
Miss Lane – an air force veteran who dated Stephens for around three years – yesterday said her ‘ heart and prayers’ went out to the victim’s family. She said: ‘Steve really is a nice guy. He is generous with everyone he knows. He was kind and loving to me and my children.’ Tory MP Damian Collins, chairman of the Culture, Media, and Sport committee, said: ‘This case raises more concerns about the way Facebook polices what is posted on its site, and how quickly it is able to react when users refer content that should be taken down. Facebook has a social responsibility to ensure that messages of hate and violence are not promoted through its platform.’
Labour’s Chris Matheson, who also sits on the committee, said: ‘Facebook has been under scrutiny for slow responses to notifications of extreme content. The incident in Cleveland is clearly horrific and three hours is far too long for them to take it down.
‘The media select committee is about to start an inquiry into fake news and it may look at what drives clicks for online providers. I would be very concerned if we were seeing content providers not removing shocking images because it drives traffic.
‘I hope that is not the case here with Facebook, but we may need to look into it.’
Facebook, which has now taken down Stephens’ profile, said it ‘worked hard to keep a safe environment’. Cleveland Police issued a warrant on Sunday, with a force spokesman saying officers had spoken with Stephens but failed to convince him to turn himself in.
The victim’s son, Robert Godwin Jr, said he said he couldn’t bring himself to watch the video, telling a local news website: ‘I haven’t even looked at my cell phone or the news.’
‘The incident is clearly horrific’