Facebook Introduces Restrictions For Live Stream Feature In Answer To Christchurch Attack

In answer to the Christchurch attack happened a few months ago, Facebook rolls out a restriction on who can live stream on its platform.

The new policy is called “one strike,” and it will ban any user who violates its rules once from using the Facebook Live function for a certain period of time. If users share a harmful link in their profile, the one that leads to terrorist attacks, for example, they will be banned from live streaming as well.

Facebook introduced the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy not long ago, and this new restriction is applied for it too. The new rules have resulted in the elimination of Apex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Nehlen, and other right-wing names from both Instagram and Facebook.

According to Guy Rosen, what the company aimed at with the new policy was to lessen abuse spread by the Facebook Live function but still allow people to use it for positive purposes on a daily basis.

Rosen also shared that the same restrictions would be rolled out to the rest of the platform rather than being restricted to just the Live Stream function. In the near future, people who have broken its policies will be banned from making advertisements on the platform as well.

The Christchurch attack in which a white nationalist terrorist came to a mosque in New Zealand and opened fire there, he also live-streamed the whole assault on Facebook. After the incident, the company was under fire for not acting quickly enough to remove the videos capturing the attack.

Rosen said that the Christchurch attack had forced Facebook to review the measures that could take to prevent people from speeding hate and harm via the platform.

The company has a larger scheme to maintain the integrity of its platform. It is working with researchers to enhance its technology to analyze video and images, a partnership that is worth about $7.5 million.