Perez Hilton livestreamed apparent self-harm.
asserted
Hilton → livestreame → harm
How did TikTok let this happen?
asserted
this → let → ?
The livestream ran for about 15 minutes, the social media platform confirmed
Warning: This article contains details about self-harm, suicide and violence.
Celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton was hospitalized Tuesday night after livestreaming a disturbing TikTok video that appeared to show him engaging in self-harm.
TikTok has since taken down the video, but not before viewers watched the blood-covered blogger holding a knife while in what seemed to be mental distress.
asserted
what → run → knife
Some participating in the livestream yelled at him to stop, while others said to call 911.
asserted
others → participate → 911
As the video circulated, social media feeds were flooded with people shocked by what they had just seen, calling it "horrific" and saying they were "terrified."
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they → circulate → it
Clips from the video, which CBC News has viewed, were visible on other social media platforms such as X.
"I genuinely can't even believe what I just saw," one person posted on TikTok on Tuesday night.
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person → view → night
"How or why TikTok allowed that livestream to go on for so long is still baffling to me," someone else posted.
asserted
someone → allow → me
"I was in the livestream and am traumatized," another viewer commented.
asserted
viewer → traumatize → livestream
TikTok's policies clearly forbid content showing suicide or self-harm, and its automated content moderation system, which includes AI, is meant to prevent videos like Hilton's from ever being posted.
asserted
which → forbid → Hilton
In its most recent transparency report, TikTok said it suspended 50.7 million live sessions between January and March this year alone for violating its rules.
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it → say → rules
This year, it also removed 99.8 per cent of videos violating its mental health community guidelines before anyone ever saw them, a company spokesperson told CBC News.
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spokesperson → remove → News
So how did Hilton's livestream continue for what TikTok confirmed was about 15 minutes?
asserted
TikTok → continue → ?
"If I was TikTok, I would definitely be revisiting how they could have sped up this process ... because what you want to see is much quicker intervention," Emily Laidlaw, the Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity Law and an associate professor at the University of Calgary's law faculty, told CBC News.
uncertain
Laidlaw → revisit → News
The TikTok spokesperson added that its automated moderation systems flagged the livestream within minutes and routed it to its U.S. human moderation team for review.
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systems → add → review
TikTok said it closed several subsequent streams within 90 seconds and banned the account.
asserted
it → say → account
No solution will ever be perfect
Tuesday's TikTok livestream is far from the first time disturbing, even horrific, events have been broadcast live on social media.
There was the 2019 massacre at two mosques in New Zealand that was livestreamed on Facebook for about 17 minutes, for example.
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that → broadcast → example
Fifty people were killed.
asserted
people → kill → ?
And in 2022, a gunman livestreamed his racially motivated shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y., on Twitch.
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gunman → livestreame → Twitch
He killed 10 people.
asserted
He → kill → people
And so many people have broadcast their own suicides on social media that there's a term for it: livestream suicide.
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people → broadcast → it
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Trying to address problems when they happen on a livestream is incredibly difficult, both in terms of detecting it and acting quickly, Laidlaw said.
asserted
Laidlaw → stream → it
But since the social media platforms designed the spaces, they have to take responsibility for putting safety measures in place, she said.
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she → design → place
Many social media companies have different safeguards, she said.
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she → have → safeguards
TikTok, for example, uses different AI detection tools that might look for certain behavioural indicators (like changes in affect), language (like explicit statements of finality) and visual (such as blood or weapons).
uncertain
that → use → blood
It also relies on people to report what they see, Laidlaw added.
asserted
Laidlaw → rely → what
"There's no way the solution is ever going to be perfect," she said.
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she → be → ?
"You need to proactively think through what those measures are going to be, but things are always going to be slipping through the cracks.
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things → need → cracks
"
As for Hilton's apparent self-harm, artificial intelligence can "absolutely" help detect this type of content, but it isn't foolproof and is very unlikely to ever be a complete solution, said Peter Lewis, the Canada Research Chair in Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence and an associate professor of computer science at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ont.
asserted
Lewis → help → Oshawa
"What is needed are robust and well-resourced processes at the platform level, so that action can be taken swiftly when such content is detected or flagged," Lewis said in an interview.
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Lewis → need → interview
TikTok said it proactively alerted law enforcement to the situation with Hilton.
asserted
it → say → Hilton
'I made a lot of mistakes'
asserted
I → make → mistakes
Police in Miami responded on Tuesday after receiving "multiple calls regarding an individual who was livestreaming acts of self-harm on social media," the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement to CBC News.
asserted
Office → respond → News
"Deputies quickly located the individual’s residence, where they spoke with family members on scene and confirmed he was alone inside," the sheriff's office said.
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office → locate → scene
Hilton was safely recovered and transported to a local hospital, where he's receiving medical attention.
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he → recover → attention
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His agents, Dante Rusciolelli and Rebekah Kochan, shared a statement on Instagram asking for his privacy to be respected.
"Our primary concern is Perez's health and well being, as well as the well being of his family.
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concern → shape → family
Until we have confirmed information, we will not speculate or comment further."
asserted
we → confirm → information
Born Mario Lavandeira Jr., Hilton, 48, began his popular celebrity gossip blog in the early 2000s, which he called "Hollywood's most-hated website."
asserted
he → bear → which
He often calls himself "the original influencer."
asserted
He → call → himself
Hilton became notorious for his unfiltered, controversial posts, as well as for several high-profile celebrity feuds.
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Hilton → become → feuds
But in recent years, he has expressed remorse and apologized for his "selfish behaviour" after a medical scare earlier this year.
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he → express → scare
…and 9 more, not listed.
