The arrival of the internet age brought with it many benefits that were not there before and solutions to problems that could not be previously solved. It also made it possible for people to send information from one part of the globe to another at much cheaper and faster rates than before. The advantages brought about by the internet were further increased by the dawning of the social media age. The social media age introduced many online platforms where people could interact freely by sharing messages, videos, and internet calls. One of the most widely known and used social media sites is Facebook. Started in 2004, the company has rapidly grown over the years to have approximately 2.4 billion active users (Newcomb, 2017). Despite its growth and contribution in the social lives of many people, the company’s platform has been used for the wrong purposes on several occasions. One of the most recent criminal events that have been registered on the social media website is the killing of Robert Godwin by Steve Stephens. The incident raised questions on whether or not the company should be held liable when criminal activities are conducted or broadcasted on its site.
It is evident that social media, especially Facebook has been helpful in improving the ways that people communicate with each other throughout the globe. One of the most important advantages of Facebook is the opportunity it provides to millions of people which enables them to communicate with a large number of people instantaneously. This feature is made possible through different ways, the main one being through Facebook live. Facebook live allows users to upload live videos of themselves or what is happening around them. Through the feature, many mysterious incidences have been explained, for example, the police shooting of an unarmed black man in Minnesota. Despite its advantages, there are other circumstances where the platform is used to broadcast criminal activities to the millions of users around the globe. A perfect example of when Facebook was inappropriately used is when Steve Stephens randomly picked out Robert Godwin and murdered him while recording the whole act on Facebook live (Newcomb, 2017). Newcomb (2017) argue that even though it is not their mandate to stop criminal activities from occurring, the company must be ethically mandated to rescue a crime victim in cases where their site is used in committing the crime. Facebook must be obligated to identify where the action is taking place from and inform the various law enforcement agencies so that they can intervene and rescue a crime victim.
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To avoid the unlawful use of its site, Facebook must come up with various measures that will enable it to detect any inappropriate usage and flag it down before it can be transmitted to many people. Foremost, the company must improve its reporting procedures to make it easier and faster for people to flag down any post that may appear to violate the company’s terms and conditions (Moghavvemi et al ., 2015). Through such a step, Facebook will be able to engage everyone in their bid to regulate what is being posted on its site. Facebook needs to also come up with an oversight committee which will be mandated with the review of any materials that is uploaded on its site. The reviewing of content before it is uploaded will be instrumental in detecting and stopping the upload of material that may be part of the criminal activity (Moghavvemi et al ., 2015). Finally, the company must come up with newer technologies that will be able to detect and inform law enforcement of any activity that might seem to be criminal.
Even though they are not legally obligated, social media companies such as Facebook need to come up with several measures that will help them prevent the broadcasting of criminal activities. One of the ways that the companies can use to stop the broadcasting and spread of violent activities is creating technology that can stop the sharing of such videos or images once uploaded. When the sharing of violent videos is limited, the number of people that will be able to view the content will be limited thereby reducing its effects (Jacobo, 2017). Another method that can help social media companies prevent the broadcasting of social media sites by giving other users the power to report any content that they may deem not appropriate (Jacobo, 2017). Reporting must be made faster and simple to enable more people to notify the company of any inappropriate content. When the above measures are well implemented, the broadcasting of violent videos will reduce and eventually cease over time.
Due to the increase in the number of incidences where people used Facebook to broadcast violent activities, the company resorted to creating an oversight committee. The committee is mandated with the assessment of the users’ activities and in identifying those that are bordering the violation of its terms and conditions. When such activities are detected, the committee can send warnings to the users informing them of the most appropriate way of using the social media site (Moghavvemi et al ., 2015). Furthermore, the committee has the responsibility of coming up with several new measures that can be able to govern the way people use the site. According to Moghavvemi et al . (2015), creating new measures helps in combating new trends that go against the company’s rules and regulations. Another function of the oversight committee is to identify material that violates the company’s terms and regulations and pulling them down before they are broadcasted to many people who are active on the site.
To create a safe online space where people can communicate and socialize safely, Facebook must make several changes to its operation. Foremost, the company must invest in civic education where users are educated on best practices while using the site. Additionally, the company must strengthen its oversight committee to enable it to deal with the rising trends of criminal broadcasting (Moghavvemi et al ., 2015). If the company can make such changes in its management of online content, it will eventually encourage the ethical use of its platform
The advancement of technology resulted in the social media age where people were able to communicate and socialize on various online platforms. Even though Facebook is not legally mandated to rescue crime victims, it should come up with measures that will make it easier to identify inappropriate broadcasts and notify law enforcement so that they move with speed and rescue crime victims. There are also several ways that the company can be thorough with its reviews such improving the reporting procedures for violent broadcasts and strengthening the oversight committee to enable it effectively deal with the broadcast of inappropriate content.
References
Jacobo, J. (2017, May 24). What experts say about Facebook Live's emerging role in policing and criminology. AbcNews . https://abcnews.go.com/US/experts-facebook-lives-emerging-role-policing-criminology/story?id=47445777
Moghavvemi, S., Ainin, S., Aziz, A. A., & Wai, P. S. (2015). Facebook usage, socialization, and academic performance. Retrieved from https://umexpert.um.edu.my/file/publication/00014037_150590_64447.pdf
Newcomb, A. (2017, April 17 ). Cleveland Shooting Highlights Facebook's Responsibility in Policing Depraved Videos. NBC News.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/cleveland-shooting-highlights-facebook-s-responsibility-policing-depraved-videos-n747306
