CW: This article references gun violence. Please refer to the end of the article for on- and off-campus resources.

The Georgetown University Law Center Civil Rights Clinic filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), arguing that Facebook and Instagram failed to remove violent content from their platforms.

The clinic joined gun safety advocate Andy Parker on Oct. 12 in filing a complaint with the FTC. The complaint came after Parker alleged Facebook violated its terms of service after the company failed to remove videos of the murder of Parker’s daughter, Alison Parker. Under the social media company’s terms of service, users cannot post content that shows “harmful conduct towards others.”

Alison Parker, a television reporter in Roanoke, Va., was shot and killed in August 2015 alongside her cameraman Adam Ward while reporting live. Following the shooting, videos of Parker’s and Ward’s deaths appeared on various social media platforms, including Facebook, which showed footage from Ward’s camera and the shooter’s GoPro.

Facebook prioritizes profit over the removal of violent content from their platform, according to Parker.

“They could take this stuff down, but they don’t want to because they monetize it,” Parker said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “They profit from Alison’s murder, from violent content like that, and disinformation, and you know the list goes on, every day there’s another revelation. We just have to continue to shine a light on this.” 

The clinic which is composed of eight students and works with clients facing discrimination or constitutional rights infringement, is representing Parker in the complaint. In February 2020, the clinic represented him in a similar complaint against YouTube and Google.

After receiving the complaint, the FTC can choose to perform an investigation into Facebook, which could lead to legal settlements, lawsuits, fines or other enforcement actions, depending on the findings of the initial investigation, according to the FTC’s website. 

Facebook violated a contract with users by not removing reported content that violates its terms, according to Abby Rickeman (LAW ’22), one of the students working with the clinic on the complaint.

“If Facebook is saying that they’re going to remove content that is harmful, especially when family members or relatives report the videos of their relatives being harmed, and they’re not doing that, I think that results in a deceptive trade practice,” Rickeman said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “It’s a breach of the agreement between users and Facebook.”

The complaint specifically calls on the FTC to investigate and bring an enforcement action against Facebook for violating their terms of service, a violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits “deceptive acts,” according to a copy of the complaint obtained by The Hoya. 

“Mr. Parker and families who have experienced similar tragedies do not deserve to endure the pain of knowing others are deriving pleasure from the deaths of their loved ones. FTC action to prevent continued harmful consumer deception is both appropriate and necessary,” the complaint reads.

Facebook has been working to remove these videos from its platform and is continuing to remove similar content as it is posted, according to a Facebook company spokesperson.

“These videos violate our policies and we are continuing to remove them from the platform as we have been doing since this disturbing incident first occurred,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Hoya. “We are also continuing to proactively detect and remove visually similar videos when they are uploaded.”

Now that the complaint has been filed, Parker and the clinic are awaiting a response from the FTC on whether the agency will pursue an investigation into the complaint; however, the FTC is not required to respond by a specific date.

It is time for Facebook and other social media sites to take responsibility for their content and regulate it correctly and truthfully to consumers, according to Parker. 

“It’s time to grow a conscience and do something for this country,” Parker said. “For all the good that YouTube and Google and Facebook do, there’s a lot of just really bad stuff that they’re letting go, and they monetize it, they profit off of it. They’ll deny it, but we know better.”

Resources: On-campus resources include Health Education Services (202-687-8949) and Counseling and Psychiatric Service (202-687-7080); additional off-campus resources include the District of Columbia Office of Refugee Resettlement (202-698-4316).