Mark Zuckerburg: Facebook has 'a lot of work to do' after live murder video
Social network founder speaks out after footage of a 74-year-old man being killed appears on site
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has admitted the social network needs to improve the way it responds to violent videos after a man posted footage showing him committing a murder.
Speaking at the F8 developers' conference in San Jose, California, he said: "We have a lot of work and we will keep doing all we can to prevent tragedies like this from happening."
Facebook took two hours to remove the video posted by Steve Stephens, 37, which revealed him shooting dead 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Stephens killed himself following a pursuit by police in Erie, Pennsylvania, about 100 miles from the murder scene.
He had also shot a Facebook Live video in which he boasted about killing 15 people, although police say there was just one victim.
The Daily Telegraph says the killing "raised new questions about Facebook's ability to police the millions of hours of video uploaded to the social network".
The social media site has pledged to make it easier for users to report videos and to speed up the process of reviewing items once they are reported.
Justin Osofsky, vice president of global operations at Facebook, wrote in a blogpost: "It was a horrific crime - one that has no place on Facebook, and goes against our policies and everything we stand for.
"We disabled the suspect's account within 23 minutes of receiving the first report about the murder video, and two hours after receiving a report of any kind."
Days before the killing, reports USA Today, Zuckerberg said Facebook had a responsibility "to get better" at making sure it was not a tool for spreading video of violent acts.
"But the long-term solution is going to be having better artificial intelligence tools to give context of what's going on," he added.
He also published a manifesto in February saying artificial intelligence was beginning to prove effective at revealing problems.
USA Today says it is not clear if AI played a role in flagging up the Stephens' footage.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Twitter's year of Elon Musk: what happens next?
Why Everyone's Talking About 'Your platform is dying', says one commentator, but new CEO is aiming for profitability next year
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Turns out Facebook isn't as polarizing as previously thought
Talking Point New studies show that, contrary to prior belief, the algorithm has little effect on driving polarization
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk: a tale of the tech tape
Under the Radar The two men challenged each other to a fight after years of sniping
By Justin Klawans Published
-
How greater online regulation is prompting fears of a ‘splinternet’
feature Government pressure worldwide means the internet is not as open as it once was
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
Donald Trump, the Pope and the disruptive power of AI images
feature AI-generated deepfakes blur reality and could be used for political disinformation or personal blackmail
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Supreme Court, Section 230 and the future of the internet
feature Lawsuits brought against tech giants could have far-reaching consequences for the internet as we know it
By Richard Windsor Published
-
Meta to offer verified accounts on Facebook and Instagram
Speed Read
By Harold Maass Published
-
Spain spends €258m on trains too big for tunnels
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published