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Slain reporter's father takes on Facebook over violent video

Facebook-Violent-Video-Complaint
Posted at 3:17 PM, Oct 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-12 18:25:25-04

WASHINGTON (AP) — The family of a slain journalist is asking the Federal Trade Commission to take action against Facebook for failing to remove online footage of her shooting death.

Andy Parker says the company is violating its own terms of service in hosting videos on Facebook and its sibling service Instagram that glorify violence.

His daughter, TV news reporter Alison Parker, and cameraman Adam Ward, were killed by a former co-worker while reporting for Roanoke, Virginia's WDBJ-TV in August 2015.

The Associated Press reported that top exectuives have reassuranced that the video, which was partially filmed by the shooter, would be removed, according to a complaint filed by Parker and attorneys with the Georgetown Law Civil Rights Clinic on Tuesday.

“The reality is that Facebook and Instagram put the onus on victims and their families to do the policing of graphic content — requiring them to relive their worst moments over and over to curb the proliferation of these videos,” the complaint said, according to the AP.

A complaint filed Tuesday with the FTC says Facebook is engaging in deceptive trade practices by violating its own terms of service and misrepresenting the safety of the platform.