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What should streaming platforms do when acts of violence are broadcast live?
Aug 30, 2018

What should streaming platforms do when acts of violence are broadcast live?

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This week's shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, was broadcast live on Twitch, the streaming platform acquired by Amazon for a billion dollars in 2016. Two people were killed while they were competing in a Madden NFL video game tournament. The shooter later killed himself. Twitch has removed video of the shooting from its site (although it's still available elsewhere online) and announced increased security for its annual TwitchCon gathering in October. Electronic Arts, maker of the Madden video game, said it's canceling three upcoming esports events. The entire business model of esports is built on live streaming competitive video game playing. So how might Twitch respond? We talk with Dmitri Williams from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism about the responsibility streaming services have over what goes out on their platforms. (08/30/18)

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What should streaming platforms do when acts of violence are broadcast live?

Aug 30, 2018
The fatal shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, makes esports the latest online arena to struggle with issues of violence.
Gamers compete at the Nvidia booth during the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2017.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

This week’s shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, was broadcast live on Twitch, the streaming platform acquired by Amazon for a billion dollars in 2016. Two people were killed while they were competing in a Madden NFL video game tournament. The shooter later killed himself. Twitch has removed video of the shooting from its site (although it’s still available elsewhere online) and announced increased security for its annual TwitchCon gathering in October. Electronic Arts, maker of the Madden video game, said it’s canceling three upcoming esports events. The entire business model of esports is built on live streaming competitive video game playing. So how might Twitch respond? We talk with Dmitri Williams from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism about the responsibility streaming services have over what goes out on their platforms. (08/30/18)

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