Livestream Streamer Report

When to use it?

Malicious live streamers have notoriously targeted people they believe will be easy targets through platforms such as gaming, or chat roulette where users may be unsuspecting of malicious intent.

Due to the nature of livestreams, dangerous content may be experienced for a prolonged period prior to it being removed or muted. Therefore, reporting must be accessible and easy to use, as well as specific to help intervene and mitigate these events. Reporting should be used immediately after a violation is identified, with an option to review policies, and rules.

How does it work?

When a report is submitted by a participant in the livestream, the livestream should be muted and visually distorted in some form for that user. After a successful report is submitted, reviewed, and labeled in violation of safety policies the livestream should be shut down with notification to the streamer, and all participants as to why, and for what duration, or if banning is appropriate.

Policies and rules should be presented to the reporter prior to report submission and to the offender after an action is taken to spam reporting and appeals.

Advantages

Reporting can help to quickly remove or censor any potentially dangerous content that may be difficult to track down or avoid.

Disadvantages

Duration of real time recording functions, as well as minimal monitoring can lead to prolonged exposure if certain audiences are unaware of harmful intent. If platforms do not prioritize safer experiences, younger audiences may continue to be at risk and reporting may become ineffective.

Reporting can be spammed and illegitimately submitted to target specific groups or persons.

Examples

YourTube Livestream reporting dialogs – users capture the exact time stamp when reporting.
(Screenshots taken August 2021)

References