If you’ve never seen someone being beheaded before, now you can just log on to your favorite social networking site Facebook and watch a video of it happening. The site has recently decided to remove the temporary ban against beheading videos from their site that was put in place last spring, according to BBC, despite widespread public disapproval often concerning the effect it may have on the mental health of Facebook users.
The video of a woman being decapitated in Mexico that circulated last spring was part of the reason public criticism grew so significantly, and it led Facebook to place the ban on such gory videos, reports CNN online. Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board, which is comprised of groups such as Family Online Safety Institute and Childnet International, complained that the website “crossed a line” last May which led to ban, according to BBC.
Since the ban was lifted, this video came back to the site for public viewing for a short time until Facebook finally decided to remove it on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Reuters writes, “Facebook said on Monday that gory videos, such as a video of a masked man beheading a woman in Mexico, are permitted on its site so long as the content is posted in a manner intended for its users to ‘condemn’ the acts rather than celebrate them… But Facebook said on Tuesday that it had decided to ‘strengthen’ its enforcement of the policy.” Basically any gory video can be posted as long as it is not glorifying the video’s content but instead spreading awareness about violent content. Facebook concluded that the Mexico beheading video did not meet those requirements, since it was eventually removed by the site after continued criticism.
Possibly the biggest source of people’s outrage on the allowance of decapitation videos is the psychological damage it could have on the site’s users, according to BBC. Facebook is a free social networking site that allows users as young as 13 years old to register for an account.
“It only takes seconds of exposure to such graphic material to leave a permanent trace – particularly in a young person’s mind,” said Dr Arthur Cassidy, a former psychologist who runs a branch of the Yellow Ribbon Program in Northern Ireland, according to BBC.
John Carr, who sits on the executive board of the U.K. government’s Council on Child Internet Safety, said “Facebook has taken leave of its senses. Those videos will fuel countless nightmares among the young and the sensitive,” according to BBC. Members on Facebook have flooded these videos with outraged comments, including one comment reported by BBC that said, “This is absolutely horrible, distasteful and needs to be removed… there are too many young minds that can see this. I’m 23 and I’m very disturbed after seeing a couple of seconds of it.”
With no title signifying the content of the video and no warning attached, I would probably click play on the video out of curiosity only to possibly be scarred for life after seeing a murder happen before my eyes. If there was a title such as “Explicit content: beheading incident in Mexico,” it would convey to the user of its contents, explain that it’s spreading awareness and address that this is a real problem. This would give people the option to watch the video or not.
With the removal of the ban comes some new promises from Facebook regarding the videos. According to CNN Money, spokesman Matt Steinfeld said Facebook would “take a more holistic look at the context surrounding a violent image or video, and will remove content that celebrates violence,” but will allow the posting of videos “of public interest or concern.” Another limitation noted in Facebook’s user conditions, according to CNN Money, is against items that “glorify violence or attack an individual group,” and they also want the videos to come with a warning, something which many of the past disturbing videos lacked. This could spare many people from seeing potentially disturbing and homicidal videos and at least give them the chance to choose if they want to see someone being decapitated.
Facebook is claiming this allowance of videos is in support of free speech laws for posters and viewers, according to huffingtonpost.com. I applaud the attempt of Facebook to want to spread awareness on global issues and support people’s freedom of speech, but isn’t murder kind of commonly known as morally wrong? And even if an individual does not know that decapitating someone is ethically wrong, is Facebook really the platform for this type of message?
Facebook is a social networking site, a site for people to be social and communicate and network with others. The ethics of murder is a deep topic to handle on a site where not everyone is signing up for that information. I would fully support a specific section of Facebook or a spin off website entirely dedicated to serious ethical issues. I don’t support these videos popping up on a news feed. BBC notes that decapitation videos are available for public viewing elsewhere on the Internet, and I think that is where they should stay.
It is great that Facebook wants to use its power as the largest social networking site in the world (with over 1.15 billion members, according to Reuters) to educate the masses, but it should be limited to certain groups or pages on the website that people can willingly go to find this information, not on the main news feed of young kids.
“Activists — particularly those operating in countries without a free press — have come to rely on social media, including Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, as indispensable ways to document and spread awareness about human rights abuses and atrocities,” writes huffingtonpost.com. This is true, and this is part of the beauty of Facebook. That is why it is amazing that this social networking site exists. But I still don’t think it is right to give 13-year-olds the opportunity to see someone being beheaded, at least not without their parent’s permission. The intentions of Facebook may be in the right place, but its execution of it needs to change and fast before more people are accidentally mentally or emotionally scarred.