Facebook under fire after Thai man broadcasts baby daughter's murder
Footage of Wuttisan Wongtalay killing his 11-month-old baby left on social network for almost 24 hours
Facebook is once again facing scrutiny over its livestreaming function after a Thai man broadcast himself murdering his 11-month-old daughter on the social media site.
Wuttisan Wongtalay, 20, filmed the murder of his 11-month-old daughter on the rooftop of a deserted hotel in two video clips streamed on the site before committing suicide.
Distressed relatives who saw the footage alerted police, but officers arrived too late to save the pair.
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In a statement, Facebook said: "This is an appalling incident and our hearts go out to the family of the victim.
"There is absolutely no place for content of this kind on Facebook and it has now been removed."
Facebook has been criticised for the speed of its reaction after the footage was online for nearly 24 hours. It was eventually removed around 5pm local time yesterday. By mid-afternoon, the first video had drawn 112,000 views, while the second gained 258,000 views, Reuters reports.
One of the clips was also uploaded to YouTube and had 2,351 views before journalists reported it. It was removed 15 minutes later.
This is the second time this month that Facebook Live has come in for criticism, after American Steve Stephens, 37, used it to broadcast the murder of 74-year-old Robert Godwin on Easter Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio. Stephens later killed himself after a police chase.
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