NY leaders propose measures to keep violent videos offline
Two top New York state officials on Tuesday called on lawmakers to outlaw the creation of videos of homicides, citing the viral spread across the internet of footage livestreamed by a gunman as he killed Black shoppers and workers during a racist mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket.
Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, recommended state legislation that would both criminalize graphic images or videos created by a killer and create “significant” civil penalties for online platforms that don’t take “reasonable steps” to stop such recordings from being circulated.
The recommendations are contained in a report examining the role of online platforms in the May 14 attack at a Tops Friendly Market in which 10 people died.