Content warning: This article discusses self-harm.
On Tuesday night, the gossip blogger Perez Hilton, aka Mario Lavandeira Jr., was hospitalized after showing up on a TikTok livestream naked, covered in a red fluid that looked like blood, and wielding what appeared to be a knife.
The stream—which TikTok claims lasted around 15 minutes—prompted concern from horrified viewers, who immediately contacted the police. But it also raised questions about how TikTok could have allowed the stream to continue for so long without intervention.
TikTok spokesperson Jamie Favazza told WIRED via email that TikTok’s automated moderation systems flagged the livestream minutes after it started, but a “moderator error” caused a delay in its removal as well as the account’s subsequent ban. Favazza also shared that TikTok contacted law enforcement shortly after the livestream was flagged.
The platform did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the nature of this moderator error or exactly how long the error delayed the removal of the livestream.
During Lavandeira’s stream, the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office received “multiple calls regarding an individual who was livestreaming acts of self-harm on social media,” dispatching a crisis response unit and mental health professionals to his home, according to Samantha Choon, a detective with the sheriff’s office. A public information officer for the sheriff’s office separately confirmed to WIRED over the phone that the individual in question was Lavandeira.
TikTok’s official content guidelines prohibit “content that shows, promotes, or provides instructions for suicide or self-harm” as well as “graphic, violent, or disturbing content.” The platform has said that it uses a “combination” of automated systems and human moderation to screen for such content. The company entered into a new ownership structure in January, with a newly formed joint venture assuming responsibility for content moderation and data security in the US.
Yet following news that Lavandeira was hospitalized, many on social media questioned why the platform left the livestream up for long enough that thousands of viewers saw it, given its content guidelines. Some speculated that the platform left the stream up for 30 minutes or more before it banned the account. Favazza denied this to WIRED, saying the stream was up for “half” that time and that Perez’s subsequent streams were cut within 90 seconds.
Nonetheless, this is not the first time that TikTok, as well as livestreaming platforms in general, have been accused of failing to properly moderate content featuring suicide or self-harm. In 2020, The Intercept reported that a young Brazilian man had livestreamed his own suicide on the platform. Later that year, TikTok also struggled to remove graphic clips of the final moments of Ronnie McNutt, who went viral after taking his own life on Facebook Live.
In response to a request for comment from WIRED, Dante Rusciolelli, Lavandeira's manager and the CEO of Golden Artists Entertainment, said Lavandeira's team was “not in a position to comment on TikTok’s internal policies, moderation decisions, or its communications with law enforcement.”
“Our focus remains entirely on Perez’s health and well-being,” Rusciolelli added via email. “We appreciate the concern surrounding this situation and respectfully ask that his privacy be honored while he receives the care and support he needs.”
Additional reporting by Manisha Krishnan.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 for support.
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