Page 23 - aruba-today-20170504

A23
TECHNOLOGY Thursday 4 May 2017

Facebook to hire 3,000 to review videos of crime and suicide

BARBARA ORTUTAY called the idea that false
AP Technology Writer news on Facebook influ-
NEW YORK (AP) — Face- enced the U.S. election
book plans to hire 3,000 “crazy.” A month later, the
more people to review company introduced a
videos and other posts slew of initiatives aimed at
after getting criticized for combating false news and
not responding quickly supporting journalism. And
enough to murders shown just last week, it acknowl-
on its service. edged that governments
The hires over the next or others are using its social
year will be on top of the network to influence politi-
4,500 people Facebook al- cal sentiment in ways that
ready has to identify crime could affect national elec-
and other questionable tions.
content for removal. CEO
Mark Zuckerberg wrote WHAT TO DO
Wednesday that the Zuckerberg said Facebook
company is “working to workers review “millions of
make these videos easier reports” every week. In ad-
to report so we can take dition to removing videos
the right action sooner — of crime or getting help for
whether that’s responding someone who might hurt
quickly when someone In this Monday, June 4, 2012, file photo, a girl looks at Facebook on her computer in Palo Alto, themselves, he said the
needs help or taking a Calif. In a blog post Wednesday, May 3, 2017, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the reviewers will “also help
post down.” company will hire another 3,000 people to review videos of crime and suicides following murders us get better at remov-
shown live.
Videos and posts that glo- Associated Press ing things we don’t allow
rify violence are against viewers don’t know what ered the possibility that ping and torture have on Facebook like hate
Facebook’s rules, but will happen. This rawness is live streams of crime or made international head- speech and child exploi-
Facebook has been criti- part of their appeal. violence would inevitably lines even when the crimes tation.”
cized for being slow in re- While the negative vid- appear alongside the pos- themselves wouldn’t have, Wednesday’s announce-
sponding to such content, eos make headlines, they itive stuff, “they weren’t simply because they were ment is a clear sign that
including videos of a mur- are just a tiny fraction of doing a good enough job on Facebook, visible to Facebook continues to
der in Cleveland and the what users post every day. researching implications people who wouldn’t need human reviewers to
killing of a baby in Thailand The good? Families docu- for societal harm,” Bur- have seen them otherwise. monitor content, even as it
that was live-streamed. menting a toddler’s first roughs said. As the company intro- tries to outsource some of
The Thailand video was up steps for faraway relatives, duces even more new the work to software due
for 24 hours before it was journalists documenting FUNHOUSE MIRROR? features, it will continue to in part to its sheer size and
removed. news events, musicians With a quarter of the have to grapple with the the volume of stuff people
In most cases, content performing for their fans world’s population on it, reality that they will not al- post.
is reviewed and possi- and people raising money Facebook can serve as a ways be used for positive, It’s not all up to Facebook,
bly removed only if users for charities. mirror for humanity, ampli- or even mundane things. though. Burroughs said us-
complain. News reports “We don’t want to get rid fying both the good and From his interviews and ers themselves need to
and posts that condemn of the positive aspects and the bad — the local fund- Facebook posts, it appears decide how close they
violence are allowed. This benefits of live streaming,” raiser for a needy family that Zuckerberg is aware want to be to violence —
makes for a tricky balanc- said Benjamin Burroughs, and the murder-suicide in of this, even if he is not al- do they want to look at
ing act for the company. professor of emerging me- a faraway corner of the ways as quick to respond the videos that are post-
Facebook does not want dia at the University of Ne- planet. as some would hope. ed, and even circulate
to act as a censor, as vid- vada in Las Vegas. But lately, it has gotten “It’s heartbreaking, and them, for example. And
eos of violence, such as Burroughs said that Face- outsized attention for its I’ve been reflecting on news organizations should
those documenting police book clearly knew live role in the latter, whether how we can do better for themselves decide wheth-
brutality or the horrors of streams would help the that means allowing the our community,” Zucker- er each Facebook live-
war, can serve an impor- company make money, spread of false news and berg wrote on Wednesday streamed murder is a story.
tant purpose. as they keep users on government propaganda about the recent videos. “We have to be careful
LIVE STREAM CHALLENGES Facebook longer, making or videos of horrific crimes. It’s a learning curve for that it doesn’t become
Policing live video streams advertisers happy. If Face- Videos livestreaming mur- Facebook. In November, a kind of voyeurism,” he
is especially difficult, as book hadn’t also consid- der or depicting kidnap- for example, Zuckerberg said.q