Facebook is constantly updating their website and the app. One of their more recent updates, Facebook Live, is causing major controversy. Within the last year, some incidents have occurred where people have sadly lost their lives, while live streaming. There have been incidents where people have committed suicide or have even been tortured during a Facebook live stream.

Katelyn Nichole Davis was a twelve year old girl from Polk County, Georgia who suffered from depression. On December 30, 2016, her body was discovered outside of her home after committing suicide. Not only did Katelyn succeed, but she also live streamed the whole thing on Facebook. The video is 42 minutes long and has over 7,000 views. Remembrance pages have been created on Facebook in honor of Katelyn.

Another disturbing event that took place on Facebook live stream is a beating and the torture of a mentally disabled man from Chicago. The Facebook live video showed a man bound, gagged and cut with a knife while shouts against Donald Trump were heard from off screen. The 30 minute assault was watched by 16,000 people, leaving many asking why Facebook didn’t take the content down. Facebook did eventually take down the recorded video, but not before it had been copied and widely shared on YouTube. The four suspects are now being charged with hate crime, abduction, unlawful restraint, and battery, with no chance of bail. There has been a Go-Fund Me page created for the man and it currently has over  70,000 dollars raised in his honor.

Although, there are some positive effects of Facebook Live, such as connecting with friends, the negatives seem to be taking over. With so much negative events happening, the question rising is “Has Facebook Live gone too far?”