Legislation that would ban live streaming illegal activities on social media has been filed for the regular session. Representative Dixon McMakin wants to crack down on people who chase fame by live streaming crimes for entertainment.
“We want to get out of the business of trying to create celebrities out of criminals. And so adding the live stream component to the law will hopefully prevent that.”
The current law prohibits posting images or videos, but McMakin says his proposal extends to recording crimes in real time. He points out the proposal would have to identify the difference between a recording in real-time and a pre-recorded video.
“You know when its a live stream because it comes up on your phone, you see it, and then it’s saved in a different part of the app. So it might be something we will later on require them to keep maybe an image on there or something that says it was live.”
McMakin says more people are live streaming criminal behavior from minor misdemeanors to serious felonies for attention and gratification. And those who record criminal behavior to become famous should be held responsible.
“Whether its from the smallest thing of a prank in a high school or at a grocery store all the way to which we unfortunately have seen livestreaming a murder. We can add that to the crime and prevent people and hold them accountable.”
The regular legislative session begins March 11th.
Comments