TikTok in trouble again as Australian PM assures ‘strong action’ against suicide video

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, on September 9, urged social media companies to take more responsibility for offensive contents after videos of a man apparently taking his own life surfaced on TikTok. While the Chinese-owned social media platform said that it is working to remove the clips and ban users who keep trying to spread the video through the app, Australian regulators ruled out prosecuting TikTok over the same. While calling the video ‘disgraceful’, Morrison said that eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant is taking ‘strong action’ against the clip. 

The Australian PM said, “Those who run these organizations have a responsibility to those who are watching and particularly when it comes to children”. 

He added, “My message to those social media companies is, yes, your products are changing the world, but with that comes a great responsibility and you need to be accountable and you need to be responsible for making sure that your product does not harm Australians, and my government will be making sure that we do everything to hold you to account for that”. 

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Video is not ‘abhorrent violence material’

After New Zealand’s mosque attacks, in which an Australian gunman used a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast live on Facebook as he murdered 51 worshippers in two mosques, the Australian government had taken extraordinary legislative steps to remove violent content from internet platforms. Under the new laws, social media executives can be imprisoned if their platforms stream real violence. However, the eSafety Commissioner’s office reportedly said that TikTok could not be prosecuted under the law. 

The office said that the video is not considered ‘abhorrent violence material’ because it is not violent terrorism, murder or attempted murder, rape torture or kidnapping. Grant reportedly in a statement informed that the office is working with social media companies to remove content and monitor the situation. She added that social media companies need to use tools at their disposal to detect and remove the content much more quickly. 

(With AP inputs)

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