James Delahunty
11 Nov 2007 18:15
Less than a week after a Finnish school student, Pekka-Eric Auvinen, shot and killed six students and two members of staff at the Jokela school before fatally shooting himself, Finnish police officers arrested and detained another youth for making a similar threat on YouTube. The 16 year old had posted a video titled "Maaninka massacre" on YouTube, similar to what Auvinen did last week.
The boy, who lives in Maaninka, was arrested on Friday and his computer was confiscated. He claims that his video was only a joke; apparently he has not learned the concept of bad taste at just 16 years or age. Auvinen had made many disturbing YouTube videos and in the hours before his attack on his school, he posted a video titled "Jokela High School Massacre - 11/7/2007" on his YouTube channel.
Similar threats were made against schools in Kirkkonummi and Tuusula on Friday, forcing many students to leave school early. With the arrest of the 16 year old on Friday, Finnish authorities seem to be keeping a close eye on YouTube activity and activity on similar sites.
Putting copyright issues aside, sites like YouTube have had more than their fair share of controversy over how their services are being abused in this way. A good example is how a Mexican drug war found its way on to YouTube, where gang members posted extreme videos, often including footage of murder, to taunt their rivals and to provoke more violence.
Social networking sites have also been a venue for online bullying for many years, and so the move to video bullying found its ground primarily on YouTube as well. It is a shame that sites like YouTube are abused in this way because for all the good the services may provide, it is examples such as the above that will be remembered and will gain most media attention.
Source:
Yahoo (Reuters)