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Zuckerberg says social media giant has a ‘responsibility’
How Facebook plans to curb violent content,
Facebook vowed Tuesday to step up its efforts to curb violent content on its site, making a rare detour at a show molded around the social network’s optimistic view of the future to acknowledge the way its technology can be used for harm.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg told attendees at its annual conference for software developers that “we will keep doing all we can to prevent tragedies” from happening.
Zuckerberg was referring to videos of violent crimes such as Sunday’s killing of a 74-year-old grandfather in Cleveland. Suspect Steve Stephens, 37, uploaded a video to Facebook with the title “Easter day slaughter” that shows Robert Godwin Sr. being shot at close range while walking home from dinner with his family. He also published a video of his intent — and a live broadcast of his confession — on the social network, police say.
An hour before Zuckerberg took the stage, news alerts across the nation flashed that “Facebook killer” Stephens had shot himself.
“We have a responsibility to continue to get better at making sure we are not a tool for spreading ” videos of violent acts, Zuck- erberg said in an interview last week at the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters before Stephens’ video had been uploaded.
The Stephens video footage again raises questions about Facebook’s effectiveness at moderating disturbing content. Facebook prohibits content that glorifies or promotes violence, only permitting violent content that is considered to be in the public interest.
Facebook is within a few years of being able to reduce the amount of violent content with the help of artificial intelligence that can detect what’s happening in a video, Zuckerberg told USA TODAY last week.
“In the near term, the system we have is based on people reporting it and us going through and reviewing the reports. There are some things that I think we can speed up there. But the longterm solution is going to be having better artificial intelligence tools to give context of what’s going on,” Zuckerberg said.
Public scrutiny of disturbing content on Facebook has surged as live streaming, both on Facebook and on Twitter’s livestreaming platform Periscope, gives terrorists and criminals a powerful tool to reach a large audience. Mental health experts warn these live streams risk desensitizing the public and encourage copycats.
Stephens fatally shot himself Tuesday in Pennsylvania. Police originally said Stephens broadcast the shooting on Facebook Live, but in fact he posted the video footage on Facebook.
Facebook eventually removed the videos and deactivated his account but not before the videos had been viewed millions of times and posted elsewhere.