On 14th May 2019, Facebook announced it will now ban those who violate its new live rules. It has said it will now start restricting who can live stream videos on its platform. This follows the New Zealand white nationalist terrorist attack that took place in March 2019.

Facebook now says it will apply a “one strike” policy to Facebook Live. This will ban users who violate the standards of the community from the live-streaming service for a period of time. This, it says, will also apply to content posted elsewhere on the website. In addition to that, it will apply to users who post harmful links from terrorist websites on their Facebook profiles.

Facebook introduced its Dangerous Individuals and Organisations policy earlier in the month in accordance with these new restrictions. Facebook’s vice president of integrity, Guy Rosen, said in a blog post, “Our goal is to minimise the risk of abuse on Live while enabling people to use Live in a positive way every day.” He explained that Facebook is looking to expand its restrictions to other social media platforms in the new future.

Facebook live stream standards

Facebook also says individuals or organisations that violate their Community Standards will be banned from creating ads too. This follows the huge criticism the company got after a white terrorist entered mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and live-streamed himself on Facebook raining bullets on innocent people. Facebook faced accusations of not controlling the spread of the live stream and not taking the video down fast enough.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden is in Paris tomorrow, Wednesday, 16th May 2019. He will meet with digital leaders of the Group of Seven nations working with French president Emmanuel Macron to push the “Christchurch Call” initiative. This agreement will seek to get governments and internet companies to take more proactive steps to prevent the live broadcast of terrorist attacks.

New Zealand has so far taken immediate action against gun ownership. The country imposed new gun control measure and introduced legislation that would ban most semi-automatic firearms. The terrorist attack took the lives of 51 innocent people. It was one of the most gruesome attacks in the country.

Facebook also reveals it will spend $7.5 million and partner with three universities to develop tools that can prevent modifies versions of terror videos from getting reposted.