Periscope has been used to livestream the suicide of a teenage girl in France.
The 19-year-old girl spoke to the camera for an hour before killing herself. Some users appeared to be encouraging her, according to the New York Times, which has viewed the footage.
Police were alerted to the stream by a Periscope user who was watching, reporting that the user seemed "distressed" or "unwell".
A spokesperson for the French prosecution office told WIRED that a study of the girl's phone and the Periscope video was ongoing. "Usually we try to get the victim's last messages and to talk to the people who saw the messages last," the spokesperson added.
In another video on her YouTube channel, the teenager claimed she had been a victim of rape, naming the alleged perpetrator.
A spokesperson for Periscope said the company was unable to comment on individual accounts and cases for "privacy and security reasons", adding that the stream had been immediately taken down once it was alerted to its content.
The spokesperson pointed to Periscope's law enforcement system that allows police officers or attorneys to report problematic content. The system includes a "bespoke reporting function for cases of potential self harm" and users can also report issues to Periscope via email.
Although explicit material is not allowed on Periscope, several worrying cases have emerged in recent months. In an ongoing court case, a teenage girl has been accused of live-streaming the rape of her friend on the app, while another case in France saw a "premeditated attack" outside a nightclub broadcast on Periscope.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
