Facebook Has Removed 1.5 Million Videos Of New Zealand Mass Shooting Within 24 Hours

Facebook is facing huge criticism because of its live streaming video feature following New Zealand mass shooting that killed 50 people. The alleged suspect is thought to have live-streamed the attack via the social network.

On Sunday morning, the company posted on Twitter saying it had removed 1.5 million videos of the shooting within 24 hours. All edited versions of the clip will also soon be deleted soon.

1.2 million videos had been blocked at upload, which means that there were still 300,000 videos appeared on Facebook. The company did not reveal the number of people may have seen those videos nor give specific details on how it reviews and blocks content.

Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, said that she wanted to discuss the live stream issue with the company.

On Sunday, during a press conference, she told reporters that the chief operating officer of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg had contacted her over the attacks.

Ardern said:

Arden also stated that US tech giants need to answer “further questions.”

On Friday, 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant from Australia was charged with murder for the Christchurch massacre. So far, Tarrant only held responsible for one count of murder. But according to the judge, that number would likely go up.

Tarrant is accused of broadcasting the attack online via Facebook. The shooting killed 50 people while injured 50 ones.

While the social network removed the 16 minute-video, Facebook and other platforms like Twitter and YouTube have struggled to keep copies of video off their platforms.

On Friday, Business Insider said that it was still able to search for copies of the shooting video on both Facebook and YouTube with simple search terms.