Last Sunday evening, a 14-year-old girl from Miami committed suicide from the bathroom of her Miami Gardens foster home. She ended her life at around 3:03 AM and was later declared dead at a local hospital.
According to the reports, the teen hanged herself with the use of a scarf as a noose that was tied to a shower glass door frame. And not only that, she also broadcasted it live on Facebook for the whole world to see.
Authorities are currently investigating the reason as to what led the teenager commit suicide under the care of a foster family. According to her family and friends, Nakia Venant (the victim) was academically smart, loved to smile and had lots of charisma. She even dreamed of writing a book about her life someday which she has started by writing a daily journal.
What Was Facebook's Response?
When asked by the Miami Herald what Facebook had to say regarding what its users share on Facebook, Christine Chen, a spokeswoman for Facebook issued a statement. Her words were, "Our Community Standards regulate what kinds of content can be shared on Facebook. Our teams work around the clock to review content that is being reported by users, and we have systems to ensure that time-sensitive content is dealt quickly."
She then also mentioned that Facebook is giving its users access to report live streams being broadcasted that violate the Community standards. In doing so, reports will be sent to the management and will be quickly reviewed. And if it is proven to be in violation of the company's standards, Facebook will interrupt the live stream.
However, on her statement, there was something worth noting about it which is helpful but also a bit vague to understand. Here is the part that is vague: "We also suggest people contact law enforcement or emergency services themselves if they become aware of something where the authorities can help."
By "authorities," does it also include them? Will they do something to prevent something like a suicide by calling the nearby law enforcement from the location of the live stream being broadcasted? Or will they just interrupt the live stream and leave the viewers and the person who broadcasted the live stream to their own devices?
