Live-stream platforms with minimal oversight host extreme content where creators film self-harm, humiliation and endurance challenges that attract thousands of viewers. A French streamer, who livestreamed himself being beaten and humiliated, died while about 10,000 people watched, prompting a prosecutor's investigation and an autopsy that ruled out death from blows. A Chinese mukbang streamer died after extreme overeating challenges. In Spain, streamers perform humiliating acts for payment and audience encouragement, including vomiting and drinking urine. Debates center on whether platforms adequately control such content and whether vulnerable streamers require protection from exploitation and self-harm.
The death last Monday of a French streamer known for filming himself being beaten and humiliated to please his followers has sparked controversy over the type of content hosted on platforms like Kick, where anyone can watch live streams with virtually no oversight beyond the platform's own loose guidelines. It has also exposed a corner of the web, easily accessible to minors, where audiences become hooked on watching someone self-harm sometimes to the point of death.
One debate is whether this content is controlled at all, and if any measures in place are sufficient. Another is whether the streamers themselves should be protected, even from themselves. Last Monday, when Raphael Graven known online as Jean Pormanove died at the age of 46, about 10,000 people were watching the live stream. The Nice prosecutor's office has opened an investigation to determine the responsibility of each participant in the broadcast, which had
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