Online video platform bans accounts for posting video of girl’s suicide
Chinese online short video platform Kuaishou told the Global Times on Wednesday that it will permanently ban accounts that had allegedly posted videos of a girl’s suicide and it vowed to stop the same users from creating new accounts.
The 19-year-old girl surnamed Li from Qingyang, Northwest China’s Gansu Province, died after jumping off a building on June 20, Nanjing-based Modern Express reported on Tuesday.
Kuaishou had reportedly blocked 12 accounts, including three that posted videos and nine that made improper comments about the suicide.
We are adding keywords under a special scenario to the inspection system and strengthening the automated algorithm to further optimize content checks, Kuaishou said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.
The banned accounts were put into a credit blacklist to make sure their owners would not be able to apply for a new account with the same personal information, read the statement.
The incident was never livestreamed, Kuaishou said.
Li suffered from depression after she was allegedly sexually harassed by her teacher surnamed Wu in 2016.
Li had attempted to kill herself four times after the alleged harassment. Police are investigating if the suicide was related to the harassment, Modern Express reported.
Several onlookers who allegedly encouraged Li to jump and laughed after she fell to death were taken into custody by police.
Qingyang’s education bureau decided on Tuesday to drop Wu from the education system and cancel his teaching certificate, the Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.
Previously, a Kuaishou user uploaded a video showing a man attempting to jump off a building, which was played more than 4,800 times and received 40 likes.
In April, the State Administration of Radio and Television and the Cyberspace Administration of China asked Kuaishou to remove what it considered obscene and violent content. It also closed accounts that had uploaded such content, Xinhua reported.