Slain reporter's father takes on Facebook over violent video

WASHINGTON – The household of a slain writer is asking the Federal Trade Commission to instrumentality enactment against Facebook for failing to region online footage of her shooting death.

Andy Parker says the institution is violating its ain presumption of work successful hosting videos connected Facebook and its sibling work Instagram that glorify violence.

His daughter, TV quality newsman Alison Parker, and cameraman Adam Ward were killed by a erstwhile co-worker portion reporting for Roanoke, Virginia’s WDBJ-TV successful August 2015. Video footage of the shooting — immoderate of which was taken by the gunman — repeatedly resurfaces connected Facebook and Instagram contempt assurances from apical executives that it volition beryllium removed, says a ailment being filed Tuesday by Parker and attorneys with the Georgetown Law Civil Rights Clinic.

“The world is that Facebook and Instagram enactment the onus connected victims and their families to bash the policing of graphic contented — requiring them to relive their worst moments implicit and implicit to curb the proliferation of these videos,” says the complaint.

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The ailment says Facebook is engaging successful deceptive commercialized practices by violating its ain presumption of work and misrepresenting the information of the level and however hard it is for users to get harmful contented removed.

Facebook didn't instantly respond to a petition for remark Tuesday.

Andy Parker said during a property league announcing the FTC ailment that helium besides wants to spot enactment from Congress, echoing immoderate of the calls made past week by whistleblower and erstwhile Facebook worker Frances Haugen, who has accused the institution of harming children, inciting governmental unit and fueling misinformation.

Parker said helium agreed with Haugen connected the request to portion distant immoderate of the protections granted by a 25-year-old instrumentality — mostly known arsenic “Section 230” — that shields net companies from liability for what users post.

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He antecedently worked with the Georgetown instrumentality session to record a akin FTC ailment against Google and its YouTube service. The FTC doesn't typically disclose whether oregon not it has decided to analyse a complaint.

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O'Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

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