Media columnistRight from the twisted start, those who plotted to kill worshipers at two New Zealand mosques depended on the passive incompetence of Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms. And they insist on presenting themselves not as media companies with some sort of gatekeeping or editing responsibility, but as mere platforms — places for their billions of users to do pretty much what they wish. Since Facebook’s live-video tool began in 2015, it’s been used to simulcast murder, child abuse and every sort of degradation. Friday’s massacre should force the major platforms — which are really media companies, though they don’t want to admit it — to get serious. As violence goes more and more viral, tech companies need to deal with the crisis that they have helped create.

Source: Washington Post March 15, 2019 14:58 UTC