At last! Facebook hires 3,000 more staff to delete horrific videos

FACEBOOK has bowed to pressure to crack down on live broadcasts of murders and suicides on the social network.

The web giant is to hire 3,000 more staff to police what users post, joining 4,500 already in place to stamp out violence, hate speech and child abuse images.

The company was forced to act after an outcry over a number of disturbing incidents broadcast via Facebook Live, its ‘streaming’ service that lets users put whatever they like directly on the network.

Last week a 21-year-old man in Thailand filmed himself hanging his 11-month-old daughter before killing himself. The four-minute video of the child’s final moments stayed on Facebook for 24 hours before the company removed it.

A second Thai man has since threatened to hang his baby on the website and although he did not go through with it, it stoked fears of a copycat trend.

Last month, gunman Steve Stephens, 37, posted a video on Facebook showing the moment he shot dead pensioner Robert Godwin, 74. The social network said it removed the video within two hours, but copies of the footage were reportedly still available a week later. Stephens later killed himself during a stand-off with police.

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg said yesterday the recent killings had made him reflect ‘on how we can do better’, addalso ing: ‘We’re working to make these videos easier to report so we can take the right action sooner, whether it’s responding quickly when someone needs help or taking a post down.

‘These [extra] reviewers will help us get better at removing things we don’t allow on Facebook, like hate speech and child exploitation.’

Facebook will also introduce features in its software to help moderators remove posts faster and alert the police quickly if there is a risk of harm.

Mr Zuckerberg admitted that another user tried to commit suicide online last week, but was stopped at the last minute. ‘We immediately reached out to law enforcement and they were able to prevent him from hurting himself,’ he said. ‘In other cases, we weren’t so fortunate.’

The Home Affairs Select Committee warned earlier this week that technology giants should face criminal charges if they do not remove abusive or extremist content.

Yvette Cooper, who was chairman of the committee until Parliament’s dissolution yesterday, hailed Facebook’s pledge as ‘a very welcome step’.

‘They are the first social media company to be open about the number of people they employ in community operations who are tasked with reviewing reported content,’ the Labour politician said.

‘It is welcome that Facebook say extra staff will improve their ability to remove hate speech and child exploitation and that they will be using more of their technological ability to improve safety too.

‘I hope Twitter and Google will now do the same.’

The NSPCC also welcomed Facebook’s move, but said regulation and fines are still needed to ensure children are kept safe online.

The internet giants have faced growing outrage over the material they provide access to, including child abuse images and instructions for terrorist acts – which Google profited from through YouTube adverts – as well doing little to prevent online bullying.

A recent survey by the NSPCC found 80 per cent of 11 to 18year-olds believe social media firms fail to protect them from harmful content.

‘I hope Google will do the same’