No more attention grabbing: Facebook takes steps to curb bogus live streams

Wants truly live video, whether it was professional news or impromptu feed from your friend's party

Image
IANS New York
Last Updated : May 16 2017 | 1:53 PM IST

In its mission to fight bogus live streams, Facebook has updated its developer policies so that people cannot use the platform just for attention grabbing and flooding people's news feeds with irrelevant content.

The move will also explicitly forbid live videos that are "only images" (including animated images) or polls linked to largely inanimate material, Engadget reported on Monday.

Just as it does not want people broadcasting crimes on Facebook, it also does not want your News Feed cluttered with live videos that are merely attempts to stand out from the crowd, the report said.

Facebook wants truly live video, whether it was professional news or an impromptu feed from your friend's party.

"If you (developers) enable people to publish Live Video to Facebook, remind them of their obligation to not include third party ads in their video content and to clearly distinguish any pre-recorded content from live content," Facebook said in a post.

Facebook was under scrutiny after it did not respond to several murders and deaths that were broadcasted live on the platform but soon it started to work on the misuse of the feature.

In March, the social media giant expanded its portfolio of its suicide prevention tools that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and pattern recognition to help troubled users.

The new tools are similar to the ones that Facebook launched in 2015, which allowed users' friends to flag a troubling image or status post.

*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: May 16 2017 | 1:40 PM IST

Next Story