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Buffalo shooting: How fast should platforms block livestream videos?

The gunman in the Buffalo, N.Y. mass shooting livestreamed Saturday's attack on the gaming platform Twitch, owned by Amazon. A Twitch spokesperson said it removed the video in less than two minutes. 

First Look

Social platforms have learned to remove violent videos of extremist shootings more quickly over the past few years. It's just not clear they're moving quickly enough.

Police say that when a聽white gunman killed 10 people聽and wounded three others 鈥� most of them Black 鈥� in a 鈥渞acially motivated violent extremist鈥� shooting in Buffalo Saturday, he livestreamed the attack to the gaming platform Twitch, which is owned by Amazon. It didn鈥檛 stay there long; a Twitch spokesperson said it removed the video in less than two minutes.

That's considerably faster than the聽17 minutes Facebook needed聽to take down a similar video streamed by a self-described white supremacist who killed 51 people in two New Zealand mosques in 2019. But versions of the Buffalo shooting video still quickly spread to other platforms, and they haven't always disappeared quickly.

In April, Twitter enacted a聽new policy on 鈥減erpetrators of violent attacks鈥澛爐o remove accounts maintained by 鈥渋ndividual perpetrators of terrorist, violent extremist, or mass violent attacks,鈥� along with tweets and other material produced by perpetrators of such attacks. On Sunday, though, clips of the video were still circulating on the platform.

One clip purporting to display a first-person view of the gunman moving through a supermarket firing at people was posted to Twitter at 8:12 a.m. Pacific time, and was still viewable more than four hours later.

Twitter said Sunday it was working to remove material related to the shooting that violates its rules. But the company added that when people share media to condemn it or provide context, sharing videos and other material from the shooter may not be a rules violation. In these cases, Twitter said it covers images or videos with a 鈥渟ensitive material" cover that users have to click through in order to view them.

But later Sunday, Twitter changed course on how it was treating material related to the shooting. In a subsequent emailed statement, the company said it is 鈥渞emoving videos and media related to the incident鈥� and 鈥渕ay remove鈥� tweets disseminating the shooter鈥檚 writings. Earlier, the company鈥檚 statement said it 鈥渕ay鈥� remove material produced by perpetrators.

鈥淲e believe the hateful and discriminatory views promoted in content produced by perpetrators are harmful for society and that their dissemination should be limited in order to prevent perpetrators from publicizing their message,鈥� Twitter said in a statement.

At a news conference following the attack, New York Gov, Kathy Hochul said social media companies must be more vigilant in monitoring what happens on their platforms and found it inexcusable the livestream wasn't taken down 鈥渨ithin a second.鈥�

鈥淭he CEOs of those companies need to be held accountable and assure all of us that they鈥檙e taking every step humanly possible to be able to monitor this information,鈥� Hochul said Sunday on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week.鈥� 鈥淗ow these depraved ideas are fermenting on social media 鈥� it鈥檚 spreading like a virus now.鈥�

Hochul said she holds companies responsible for 鈥渇omenting鈥� racist views. 鈥淧eople are sharing these ideas. They鈥檙e sharing videos of other attacks. And they鈥檙e all copycat. They all want to be the next great white hope that鈥檚 going to inspire the next attack,鈥� she said on NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press.鈥�

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that investigators were also looking into a diatribe the gunman posted online, which purports to outline the attacker鈥檚 racist, anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic beliefs, including a desire to drive all people not of European descent from the U.S.

Police said the suspected gunman, identified as Payton Gendron, of Conklin, New York, shot 11 Black and two white victims in a Buffalo supermarket, echoing a deadly attack in a German synagogue that was also聽streamed on Twitch聽in October 2019..

Twitch is popular among video game players and has played a key role in boosting the spread of esports. A company spokesperson said the company has a 鈥渮ero-tolerance policy鈥� against violence. So far, the company hasn鈥檛 revealed details around the user page or the livestream, including how many people were watching it. The spokesperson said the company has taken the account offline and is monitoring any others who might rebroadcast the video.

In Europe, a senior European Union official with oversight of digital affairs for the 27-nation bloc said Sunday that the livestreaming on Twitch showed the need for administrators to continue working with online platforms so that any future broadcasts of killings can be quickly shut down.

But Margrethe Vestager, who is an executive vice-president of the European Commission, also said it would be a stiff challenge to stamp out such broadcasts completely.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really difficult to make sure that it鈥檚 completely waterproof, to make sure that this will never happen and that people will be closed down the second they would start a thing like that. Because there鈥檚 a lot of livestreaming which, of course, is 100% legitimate,鈥� she said an interview with The Associated Press.

鈥淭he platforms have done a lot to get to the root of this. They are not there yet,鈥� she added. 鈥淏ut they keep working and we will keep working.鈥�

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said Sunday that it quickly designated the shooting as a 鈥渢errorist attack鈥� on Saturday, which triggered an internal process that identifies the suspect鈥檚 account, as well as copies of his writings and any copy of or link to video of his attack.

The company said it has removed the video of the shooting from the platform and added that instances of it still being shared are through links to streaming sites. These links, in turn, are blocked and 鈥渂lackholed鈥� by the company, meaning they can't be uploaded again.

But new links created as people upload copies to outside sites would have to be individually blocked in a game of cat and mouse 鈥� unless the company choses to block an entire streaming site from its platform, which is unlikely.

Jared Holt, a resident fellow at Atlantic Council鈥檚 Digital Forensic Research Lab, said live-content moderation continues to be a big challenge for companies. He noted Twitch's response time was good and the company was smart to watch their platform for potential re-uploads.

鈥淚t would behoove other video hosting platforms to also be aware of this content to the extent that it may have been recorded - may also be republished on their own products,鈥� Holt said.

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AP technology reporter Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from Oakland, Calif.; AP reporter John Leicester contributed from Paris.