Gov. Hochul slams big tech companies in wake of Buffalo mass shooting

As New York and the nation comes to grips with the Buffalo supermarket shooting on Saturday, questions are now being raised about the live stream technology used during the shooting.

News 12 Staff

May 15, 2022, 9:30 PM

Updated 878 days ago

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As New York and the nation comes to grips with the Buffalo supermarket shooting on Saturday, questions are now being raised about the live stream technology used during the shooting.
Gov. Kathy Hochul criticized big tech companies after she says they allowed hatred and violence to rage on.
According to police, shooting suspect Payton Gedron live-streamed the shooting via a helmet-mounted camera to the online platform Twitch.
Hochul says the hate that spewed from the suspected gunman's actions and others are amplified online through the live video.
Computer experts, like Adam Schwam from Sandwire Technology Group, says big tech has the ability to shut live feeds of shootings and other criminal behavior down by using artificial intelligence or just old-fashion human eyes.
“The social media groups are partly to blame. They have the technology to be able to monitor and manage this," Schwam says.
According to Twitch, the company flagged the live video and took it down in just minutes. They say its now has been deleted from their system. Still Hochul says she wants social media companies to explain why this is happening.
"I want them to... look me in the eye and tell me if you have done everything humanly possible to make sure that you are monitoring this content the second it hits your platform. And if you are not, I am going to hold you responsible," Hochul says.
Experts say, however, the challenge is telling the difference between what is criminal and what is a live streamed video of a victim that may need to be preserved.
"There is never going to be an easy answer to this. It's a moral dilemma that they are going to have to attack and figure out what works and what doesn't work for them," Schwam says.
Hochul did not indicate a date when she will be meeting with the tech companies.