Schakowsky, Kelly Probe Big Tech Companies on Violent and Pro-Gun Content

June 29, 2022

“While the precise motivation for the [Uvalde] massacre remains unclear, there is substantial evidence that the manufacturer was operating a significant digital marketing footprint, openly advertising its weapons, particularly to young people.”

WASHINGTON - This week, Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL), Vice Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent letters to the CEOs of Meta, Twitter, TikTok, and Twitch expressing concern over violent and pro-gun content on their platforms in the wake of mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.

The Representatives expressed that tech companies have a responsibility to enforce their public terms of service as well as a broader responsibility to ensure safety across the digital ecosystem. Failure to remove violent digital content—which often violates tech companies' own policies—has been directly linked to increased real-world violence and mass shootings.

"While the precise motivation for the [Uvalde] massacre remains unclear, there is substantial evidence that the manufacturer was operating a significant digital marketing footprint, openly advertising its weapons, particularly to young people," lawmakers wrote in their letters to Meta, Twitter, and TikTok. "Prominent industry observers, including Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW), have also drawn attention to inaction and underenforcement of terms and conditions by tech companies."

The Congresswomen went on to share their concerns that tech companies allowed overt marketing messages from Daniel Defense, Inc., a manufacturer of high-powered, semi-automatic assault rifles and firearm modifications whose AR-15 style weapon was used by the gunman in Uvalde.

During the shooting in Buffalo, the shooter had briefly livestreamed the unfolding massacre on the videogame streaming platform, Twitch. In their letter to Twitch's CEO, lawmakers requested more information on Twitch's content moderation capabilities and its collaboration with other platforms to identify and remove violent content that originates on its platform.

The lawmakers have requested a response to their inquiries from all four CEOs by July 18, 2022.

Full text of the letters are available here and below.

June 27, 2022

Mr. Emmett Shear

Twitch Interactive, Inc.

350 Bush Street

San Francisco, CA 94104

Dear Mr. Shear:

We are writing to raise concerns regarding the use of Twitch's platform to foster and broadcast

acts of violence, including the recent mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York that

left 10 dead.

We appreciate the public commitment that Twitch has made to combat acts of racism and

violence on its platform, including in the recent public statement following the Buffalo shooting:

White supremacism, racism, and hatred should have no place anywhere, especially on

Twitch, and undermine the vibrant and diverse community we are working together to

build. We have a zero-tolerance policy against violence of any kind, and we use several

mechanisms to detect, escalate, and remove violence on Twitch. This includes proactive

detection, 24/7 review and urgent escalations for your user reports.

The swift removal of video recordings depicting acts of mass violence is not only essential to

providing the effected communities the space to grieve; it is also necessary for the prevention of

future violence. Multiple reports and firsthand accounts have shown that the ability to livestream

hateful acts is a key motivator for perpetrators. The Buffalo shooter specifically referenced the

impact of livestreaming on his plans, saying, "live streaming this attack gives me some

motivation in the way that I know that some people will be cheering for me."

We recognize the steps that Twitch has taken in recent years to develop the capabilities that

enabled the removal of the Buffalo's shooter's livestream within two minutes. However, we are

writing to express concern that these actions may have fallen short of Twitch's promise to fight

white supremacism, racism, and hatred.

As underscored in its public statement, Twitch has a responsibility to the broader community.

This responsibility extends beyond Twitch's policing of its own platform to collaborating with

other platforms in the identification and removal of violent, racist content, especially when that

content originates on Twitch's platform. Industry observers have noted that recordings of

Buffalo shooting video, livestreamed on Twitch, continue to resurface on other platforms. For

example, in the days after the shooting, a reposted copy of the Twitch stream was viewed more

than 3 million times on Streamable before being removed. Other platforms, including

Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok have also seen the video reposted in the wake of the attack.

We are also concerned about the broader issue of hate and racism on Twitch's platform. Over the

past two years, users and rights advocates have called attention to the increasing frequency of

"hate raids" on Twitch's platform, where the channels of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+

streamers are flooded with hateful and threatening messages. One activist Twitch user noted that

newer accounts, particularly less than a day old, were significantly more likely to post racist

comments. Nevertheless, despite the evidence that newer, less verified users are likelier to

spread hate on the platform, the New York Times observed, "Twitch… allows anyone with an

account to go live, unlike sites like YouTube, which requires users to verify their account to do

so and to have at least 50 subscribers to stream from a mobile device."

In light of your promise for responsibility toward your users and the broader digital world, we

request your response, in as much detail as possible, to the following inquiries by July 18, 2022:

1. What existing systems, protocols, tools, or practices will enable Twitch to rapidly

identify and remove (i.e., in less than two minutes) violent livestreams in the future?

2. How is Twitch investing in new resources and capabilities to further accelerate the

identification and removal of violent livestreams?

3. How does Twitch view its responsibility to help identify and remove violent content

originating on its platform that is reposted to other websites and applications?

4. Beyond its efforts through the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, how is

Twitch collaborating with the broader technology ecosystem to identify and remove

violent content more efficiently?

5. What steps is Twitch taking on its platform to proactively root out hateful speech and

actions that may contribute to the radicalization of its users?

6. What changes in policies and practices, if any, is Twitch considering to limit the spread

of hateful and violent content (e.g., increased verification or streaming hurdles for new

users)?

7. How does Twitch plan to work with law enforcement to proactively identify individuals

who are likely to commit violence in order to make "red flag" laws more effective?

We look forward to your responses on these pressing matters and to working with you to

cultivate a safer, less hateful digital world.

Sincerely,

June 27, 2022

Mr. Parag Agrawal

Twitter, Inc.

1355 Market St #900

San Francisco, CA 94103

Dear Mr. Agrawal,

We are writing to express our concern over a potential loophole in Twitter's safety policies that

may allow the marketing of firearms, especially to minors, on its platform. We recognize that the

post described below does not constitute an explicit violation of Twitter's policies. However,

given Twitter's extensive prohibition of sales by gunmakers, we believe Twitter has expressed an

interest in limiting content from weapons manufacturers. We ask that Twitter clarify its policies

toward unpaid posts to better protect the safety of our digital and physical communities.

On May 24, an 18-year-old murdered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School

in Uvalde, Texas using an AR-15 manufactured by Daniel Defense, Inc. While the precise

motivation for the massacre remains unclear, there is substantial evidence that the manufacturer

was operating a significant digital marketing footprint, openly advertising its weapons,

particularly to young people.

Prominent industry observers, including Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW), have also drawn

attention to inaction and underenforcement of terms and conditions by tech companies, including

Twitter, in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. Former Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, President of

CSW, recently commented, "The time is long overdue to end the free ride Daniel Defense

benefits on social media.... [Daniel Defense's] not-too-subtle AR-15 marketing ads to teens and

young adults smacks of extremist antisemitic white evangelicalism."

Daniel Defense's founder, Marty Daniel, has made his goal of reaching young people abundantly

clear. A 2016 video encapsulating Daniel's philosophy depicts the founder "sitting with a small

boy, teaching him how to shoot a rifle. ‘There are two types of people in the world, good people

and evil people,' Daniel says over a rock-music score as he shows the boy how to aim. ‘And just

in case evil people get in charge, good people need to have the ability to fight back.'"

The goal of familiarizing minors with dangerous weapons runs deep in the organization, and it

appears to be a central pillar of the company's marketing strategy. In the days leading up to the

Uvalde murders, "the company tweeted out a picture of a toddler holding rifle captioned with a

quote from the Book of Proverbs: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old,

he will not depart from it.'" Other tweets by Daniel Defense were not available for analysis since the

company's Twitter account was made private in the days following the Uvalde shooting.

This post was not a paid advertisement and therefore did not violate Twitter's safety policies on

"selling…certain types of regulated goods and services." Specifically:

You may not use our service for any unlawful purpose or in furtherance of illegal activities.

This includes selling, buying, or facilitating transactions in…certain types of regulated

goods or services…Goods or services covered under this policy include, but are not limited

to…weapons, including firearms, ammunition, and explosives, and instructions on making

weapons (e.g., bombs, 3D printed guns, etc.).

Given the explicit focus on sales, Twitter's safety policies appear to allow gun manufacturers to

disseminate unpaid marketing messages to increase the sale of their products, particularly to

adolescents. We request your response, in as much detail as possible, to the following inquiries

by July 18, 2022:

1. In addition to its published policies, what criteria does Twitter use in its review and

escalation processes to moderate content posted by gun manufacturers advertising

weapons—in either paid or unpaid posts—on its platform?

2. Is Twitter open to amending its policies related to unpaid content, including marketing

messages that feature or appeal to young people, from gun manufacturers?

We look forward to your responses and to working with you to protect Americans from gun

violence.

Sincerely,

June 27, 2022

Mr. Shou Zi Chew

TikTok, Inc.

5800 Bristol Parkway

Suite 100

Culver City, CA 90230

Dear Mr. Chew,

We are writing to express our concern over the insufficient enforcement of TikTok's community

guidelines that allows the dissemination of content depicting the handling, use, and glorification

of firearms—especially to minors—on its platform.

On May 24, an 18-year-old murdered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School

in Uvalde, Texas using an AR-15 manufactured by Daniel Defense, Inc. While the precise

motivation for the massacre remains unclear, there is substantial evidence that the manufacturer

was operating a significant digital marketing footprint, openly advertising its weapons,

particularly to young people.

Prominent industry observers, including Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW), have also drawn

attention to inaction and underenforcement of terms and conditions by tech companies, including

TikTok, in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. Former Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, President of

CSW, recently commented, "The time is long overdue to end the free ride Daniel Defense

benefits on social media in clear violation of each company's customer terms of service."

Furthermore, extensive user-generated content has been uploaded to platforms, including

TikTok, that violates the letter and spirit of established terms of use and safety policies.

Specifically, TikTok's community guidelines explicitly prohibit such content:

We do not allow the depiction, promotion, or trade of firearms, ammunition, firearm

accessories, or explosive weapons. We also prohibit instructions on how to manufacture

those weapons…

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

• Content that displays firearms, firearm accessories, ammunition, or explosive

weapons

• Content that offers the purchase, sale, trade, or solicitation of firearms, accessories,

ammunition, explosive weapons, or instructions on how to manufacture them

Despite stated restrictions of gun-related content, a search of hashtag "#DanielDefense" returns

hundreds of user-generated videos on TikTok with combined 7.8 million views. Many of these

videos depict the handling, discharge, and general glorification of firearms, particularly highpowered assault weapons.

Shockingly, a search of "#AR15" returns videos with more than 450 million views, many of which show

AR-15 style weapons being discharged in dramatized warfare settings and children handling firearms.

TikTok has publicly stated that it will "proactively enforce [its community guidelines] using a

mix of technology and human moderation and aim to do so before people report potentially

violative content to us." However, these glaring examples, which have been viewable for

several weeks following the Uvalde shooting, reveal TikTok's pattern of lax and negligent

enforcement.

We request your response, in as much detail as possible, to the following inquiries by July 18,

2022:

1. Has TikTok made the determination that user-generated content depicting the handling,

discharge, and glorification of firearms—particularly high-powered assault rifles—does

not violate its community guidelines?

2. What resources and processes does TikTok use to moderate gun-related content on its

platform?

3. Does TikTok have plans to invest in additional resources, tools, and procedures to ensure

compliance with its stated community guidelines?

4. In addition to its published policies, what criteria does TikTok use in its review and

escalation processes to moderate user-generated content depicting firearms?

5. What additional clarification of its community guidelines toward gun-related content is

TikTok considering, if any?

We look forward to your responses and to working with you to protect Americans from gun

violence.

Sincerely,

June 27, 2022

Mr. Mark Zuckerberg

Meta Platforms, Inc.

1 Hacker Way

Menlo Park, CA 94025

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,

We are writing to express our concern over a potential loophole in Meta's terms and policies that

may allow the marketing of firearms, especially to minors, on its platform. We recognize that

several of the posts described in detail below do not constitute explicit violations of Meta's

policies. However, given Meta's extensive prohibition of paid advertising and sales by

gunmakers, we believe Meta has expressed an interest in limiting content from weapons

manufacturers. We ask that Meta clarify its policies toward unpaid posts to better protect the

safety of our digital and physical communities.

On May 24, an 18-year-old murdered 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School

in Uvalde, Texas using an AR-15 manufactured by Daniel Defense, Inc. While the precise

motivation for the massacre remains unclear, there is substantial evidence that the manufacturer

was operating a significant digital marketing footprint, including messages that feature or appeal

to young people.

Prominent industry observers, including Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW), have also drawn

attention to inaction and underenforcement of terms and conditions by tech companies, including

Facebook, in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. Former Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, President of