Twitch too slow to take down Halle shooting video: Paul Fletcher

The six hours Twitch took to take down the Halle shooting video was too long, says Paul Fletcher.

Federal communications minister Paul Fletcher. Picture: AAP

Australia's minister for communications Paul Fletcher has slammed US tech giant Amazon, the owner of streaming video service Twitch, over revelations it took nearly six hours to remove video of the recent synagogue shooting in Halle, Germany.

The live-streamed attack, in which a gunman allegedly killed two people, ran for 35 minutes and was the first known incident since Australia changed laws to target social media companies which did not quickly remove “abhorrent” livestreamed content.

Speaking to The Australian, Mr Fletcher said Twitch had relied too heavily on users to flag abhorrent content, allowing the graphic video to sit online for hours.

Twitch had originally said the video was taken down 30 minutes after the livestream ended, but clarified on the weekend that it was online for almost six hours.

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“I note Twitch’s statement correcting the record on the sequence of events relating to the use of its platform to live-stream the recent tragic shooting in Halle, Germany. This is an important clarification. The facts reveal that the abhorrent content remained available on Twitch’s platform for an extended period of time, almost six hours," Mr Fletcher told The Australian.

"The delay in taking it down is disappointing and demonstrates the shortcomings of relying on user flagging alone."

The video is being seen by some as a copycat of Christchurch terrorist attack, which was also livestreamed and accompanied by an online manifesto.

Mr Fletcher said the new information reinforced the importance of forums like Australia’s Taskforce to Combat Terrorist and Extreme Violent Material Online, the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism and the Christchurch Call.

"It also highlights how much work remains to be done, and the need for businesses of all sizes to prioritise preventing terrorist exploitation of their platforms," he said.

Stephan Balliet films himself before the shooting. The video was distributed via Twitch. Picture: Supplied.

"I welcome Twitch’s commitment to review how it can use new processes and technology to prevent this from happening again, and I look forward to a briefing on these details. There is much to learn from this incident and it should encourage others to participate or deepen their engagement in our collective efforts to keep Australians safe online.”

A Twitch spokeswoman told The Australian that the livestream was viewed live by three people who did not report it, and that the thousands of users who viewed the video found it via links that were published on third party sites.

“Following the conclusion of a thorough investigation, we now have a more extensive picture of events. Our intention and priority was, and remains, to be transparent with our community and the wider industry so we can learn and develop best practices to improve online safety," the spokeswoman said.

"The effectiveness of industry collaboration has been proven through GIFCT and the quick action taken to share the hash and ensure there was limited proliferation of content.

She added that Twitch was making a number of operational changes, both in its processes and technology, to help limit the spread and visibility of abhorrent content.

"We can't share details on these processes to avoid people manipulating the system or circumventing the controls we're putting in place, but this is a top priority and we are dedicating resources across the company to it," she said.

"We are a member of GIFCT [Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism] via Amazon and will continue to work closely with all member companies to help address this critical issue."