Livestreamed crime
The live streaming of crimes is a phenomenon in which people live stream criminal acts. Due to the fact publishing to social media is done with the intent of others viewing the published materials, it is often impossible to protect the privacy of the victims or people involved.[1][2][3][4]
History
In April 2016, Marina Lonina, age 18; and Raymond Gates, age 29, were arrested in Ohio on charges that Gates raped an underage friend of Lonina's while Lonina live streamed the crime on Periscope.[5][6] The prosecutor pointed out that Lonina, who was taken advantage of by a much older man, had gotten "caught up" in her excitement over the number of "likes" she was getting, and is shown on screen "laughing and giggling".[5] Joss Wright of the Oxford Internet Institute pointed out that, given the "volume of content being created and uploaded every day, [there] is almost no practical way to prevent content like this being uploaded and shared".[6]
By May, The New York Times was including the Ohio Periscope rape as one of a series of recent cases in which crimes were live streamed. These included one in which a young woman in Égly, France, speaks via Periscope about her distress and suicidal thoughts and is apparently encouraged by viewers to kill herself, which she does by throwing herself under a train. Also included was the case of two teenagers who live stream themselves bragging and laughing as they beat up a drunken man in a bar in Bordeaux, France.[7]
Types
Cybersex trafficking
Cybersex trafficking, also referred to as live streaming sexual abuse,[8][9][10] involves sex trafficking and the live streaming of coerced sexual acts and or rape on webcam.[11][12][13] Victims are abducted, threatened, or deceived and transferred to "cybersex dens".[14][15][16] The dens can be in any location where the cybersex traffickers have a computer, tablet, or phone with Internet connection.[12] Perpetrators use social media networks, videoconferences, pornographic video sharing websites, dating pages, online chat rooms, apps, dark web sites,[17] and other platforms.[18] They use online payment systems[17][19][20] and cryptocurrencies to hide their identities.[21] Millions of reports of its occurrence are sent to authorities annually.[22] New laws and police procedures are needed to combat this type of cybercrime.[23]
Instances
2017
- 3 January: A torture incident in Chicago, in which a man with a mental disability in Chicago, Illinois, was filmed being physically and verbally abused by four individuals (two men and two women). The torture was live streamed by one of the women on Facebook and sparked massive controversy.
- Early January: An American woman taped her toddler to the wall and live streamed it on Facebook Live.[24]
- 21 January: In Uppsala, Sweden, two Afghan immigrants and one Swedish citizen live streamed the gang rape of a woman on Facebook.[25]
- 24 April: A Thai man killed his infant daughter before committing suicide.[26]
2019
- 15 March: Two mass shootings occurred at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand,[27] where 51 people were killed and 49 were injured by an Australian perpetrator. The first attack was live streamed by the shooter on Facebook Live for 17 minutes, and has been described by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern "to be one of the darkest days in New Zealand history".[28] Following the shootings, Facebook announced restrictions on Facebook Live on those who posted violent extremist material.[29]
- 22 March: A stabbing incident in Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was captured on a live stream by Salt + Light Television.[30]
- 9 October: The shooting near a synagogue and kebab stand in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, which resulted in two dead and two others injured by the attacker, was live streamed on Twitch.[31]
- 29 December: A gunman opened fire at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, fatally shooting two people before he was shot and killed by an armed member of the congregation. The shooting was live streamed on YouTube because the church live streamed its services.[32]
2020
- 8 February: A Thai Army Sergeant killed 30 and wounded 57 people in a mass shooting in Thailand. A portion of the shooting at the Terminal 21 Korat mall was live streamed by the perpetrator on Facebook Live.[33][34][35]
- 20 May: The shooting at the Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale, Arizona, where three people were wounded, was live streamed by the perpetrator on Snapchat.[36]
See also
- Beheading video
- Shooting of Robert Godwin, a 2017 case in which a video of the crime was posted online (but not live streamed) by the perpetrator
- Snuff film
References
- ^ Lehigh University (3 August 2016). "Live-streaming crime How will Facebook Live and Periscope challenge US privacy law?". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ Stewart, D. R. C.; Littau, J. (2016). "Up, Periscope: Mobile Streaming Video Technologies, Privacy in Public, and the Right to Record". Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 93 (2): 312. doi:10.1177/1077699016637106.
- ^ Phippen, J. Weston (6 January 2017). "The Desire to Live-Stream Violence". The Atlantic. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ Surette, Raymond (2015). "Performance Crime and Justice". Current Issues in Criminal Justice 195. 21 (2). Australasian Legal Information Institute: 27. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ a b McPhate, Mike (18 April 2016). "Teenager Is Accused of Live-Streaming a Friend's Rape on Periscope". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ a b "Woman accused of live-streaming rape on Periscope". BBC News. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ Blaise, Lilia; Morenne, Benoît (11 May 2016). "Suicide on Periscope Prompts French Officials to Open Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ Sullivan, Michael (8 April 2020). "Child Sex Abuse Livestreams Increase During Coronavirus Lockdowns". NPR. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Guilbert, Kieran (28 March 2018). "Philippines child slavery survivors fight to heal scars of abuse". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ "What is Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation?". Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ "IJM Seeks to End Cybersex Trafficking of Children and #RestartFreedom this Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday" (Press release). International Justice Mission. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 2020-05-21 – via PR Newswire.
- ^ a b "Cybersex Trafficking". International Justice Mission UK. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ de Leon, Sunshine (17 July 2013). "Cyber-sex trafficking: A 21st century scourge". CNN. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Romero, Paolo (13 April 2020). "Senator warns of possible surge in child cybersex traffic". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Khidhir, Sheith (18 October 2019). "Duterte's drug war and child cybersex trafficking". The ASEAN Post. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Masculino, Glazyl (1 May 2020). "Norwegian national, partner nabbed; 4 rescued from cybersex den". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ a b Almendral, Aurora (30 June 2018). "Cheap tech and widespread internet access fuel rise in cybersex trafficking". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Romero, Paolo (11 November 2019). "Senate to probe rise in child cybersex trafficking". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Blomberg, Matt (15 April 2019). "Global taskforce tackles cybersex child trafficking in the Philippines". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Guilbert, Kieran (18 June 2018). "Webcam slavery: tech turns Filipino families into cybersex child traffickers". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Mera, Silvia (2 May 2019). "How the internet fuels sexual exploitation and forced labour in Asia". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ "1st Session, 42nd Parliament, Volume 150, Issue 194". Senate of Canada. April 18, 2018.
- ^ Blomberg, Matt (11 September 2019). "Cambodia feared lagging behind predators in cybersex trafficking crackdown". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Yuhas, Alan (20 January 2017). "Ohio mother who taped son to wall on Facebook Live faces charges". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ Steinbuch, Yaron (26 January 2017). "Suspects in live-streamed gang rape are Afghan immigrants". New York Post. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ Tanakasempipat, Patpicha; Thepgumpanat, Panarat (25 April 2017). "Thai man broadcasts baby daughter's murder live on Facebook". Reuters. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ Roose, Kevin (15 March 2019). "A Mass Murder of, and for, the Internet". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
- ^ Westcott, Ben; Marsh, Jenni; Regan, Helen; Wagner, Meg; Ries, Brian; Rocha, Veronica; Lewis, Aimee; Picheta, Rob; Kaur, Harmeet (17 March 2019). "Dozens killed in Christchurch mosque attack". CNN. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
- ^ Gunia, Anna (15 May 2019). "Facebook Tightens Live-Stream Rules in Response to the Christchurch Massacre". Time. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ Amiri, Farnoush (22 March 2019). "Priest stabbed during livestream of morning mass in Canada's largest church". NBC News. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ Robertson, Adi (9 October 2019). "An anti-Semitic shooting in Germany was live streamed on Twitch". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^ Maclean, Dave (29 December 2019). "Two killed in shooting during a live-streamed church service in Texas". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
- ^ "20 killed as soldier opens fire in Korat". Bangkok Post. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
- ^ "ผู้ว่าฯ สกลนคร เป็นประธานในพิธีพระราชทานเพลิงศพนายอุทัย ขันอาสา ซึ่งเสียชีวิตจากเหตุกราดยิงที่โคราช" [The governor of Sakon Nakhon presided over the cremation ceremony of Uthai Khanasa, who died in the Korat shooting.] (in Thai). Thai News. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "อาลัย 'อุทัย ขันอาสา' รปภ.เหยื่อกราดยิงโคราชเสียชีวิตแล้ว หลังยื้อชีวิตนาน 6 เดือน" [Lamented 'Uthai Khanasa' Security Guard, the victim of Korat shooting was dead. After 6 months] (in Thai). Channel 3 Thailand News. 23 August 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ Gilbert, David (21 May 2020). "A Mass Shooter Live-streamed His Attack on Snapchat at an Arizona Mall". Vice. Retrieved 2020-05-21.