B.C. NDP Leader David Eby says tech companies must have legal obligations to report conversations about causing harm after an FBI complaint described extensive online messaging tied to the Tumbler Ridge shooter.
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B.C. NDP Leader David Eby said social media and other companies should be held accountable to report conversations about causing harm after an FBI complaint described extensive online discussions involving the Tumbler Ridge shooter as she planned a deadly attack.
Eby referenced a complaint against James Bryant, who is charged in the United States with conspiracy to murder. The complaint says Bryant and the shooter discussed tactics, locations and weaponry for the attack over the Discord messaging platform before attempting to livestream the murders on Twitch.
FBI officials said the pair met after being “randomly matched” about three years earlier on the now-defunct Omegle messaging app. Mike Harrington, the FBI special agent in charge in Seattle, said the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, was about 15 at the time and Bryant was about 27, and that Omegle was shut down not long afterwards over child-safety-related lawsuits.
Megan Kay, a senior communications manager with Twitch, said the platform is cooperating with law enforcement but declined to provide details.
Eby said government lawyers will be reviewing the Bryant complaint and argued that legal obligations should be put on technology companies “because they will not and have not done the right thing.”
He pointed to the B.C. government’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI related to alleged assistance in helping Van Rootselaar plan the Feb. 10 attack that killed eight victims.
Eby also told reporters that Ottawa should impose minimum regulation for social media companies and AI companies, saying that if platforms become aware of conversations about causing harm, violence against children, or other wrongdoing, they should have an obligation to report it to police.
Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said during a news conference in Seattle that the FBI received the chats from Discord after obtaining subpoenas and search warrants, and that Discord did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the information in the FBI complaint was “rather outrageous and seriously worrisome,” adding that the issues raised are part of efforts to address online safety through proposed legislation Bill C-34.
Asked whether Discord should be covered by the legislation, Anandasangaree said the bill would establish an independent body to make such decisions.
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