// THE VERGE — MOBILE & WEB
TikTok blames ‘moderator error’ on slow response to Perez Hilton livestream
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TikTok says its automated review system flagged the stream, but it still stayed up for around 15 minutes.
TikTok says its automated review system flagged the stream, but it still stayed up for around 15 minutes.
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TikTok says a “moderator error” delayed the removal of a livestream that appeared to show blogger Perez Hilton harming himself, as reported earlier by Wired. Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok US, tells The Verge that the platform notified law enforcement about the situation and banned Hilton’s account for violating its community guidelines.
Hilton, or Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., is known for the celebrity gossip blog he started in 2004, where he often posted photos of stars featuring his own often obscene or cruel drawings layered on top.
Though some users claimed Perez’s livestream aired for more than 30 minutes, Favazza disputes this, saying it lasted around 15 minutes. Favazza adds that TikTok’s automated content moderation team flagged the video “within minutes” and routed it to US moderation teams. TikTok also took down the subsequent livestreams started by Hilton within 90 seconds. Screenshots and clips from the livestream are still floating around on some platforms like X.