YouTube won't remove 3 hours long live-streamed US mass shooting video

San Francisco: Despite facing backlash, Google-owned YouTube has said it will not remove the controversial live-streamed video of a mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado in the US, IANS reported.

According to The Verge, the video falls under the streaming platform's news and documentary coverage rules.

"Following yesterday's tragic shooting, bystander video of the incident was detected by our teams. While violent content intended to shock or disgust viewers is not allowed on YouTube, we do allow videos with enough news or documentary context," The Verge quoted Elena Hernandez, a YouTube spokesperson, as saying.

Hernandez added that they have applied an age restriction to the content and will continue to monitor the situation.

The livestream was broadcast from around the King Soopers supermarket in Boulder.

According to Vice, it reached a live audience that peaked at around 30,000 people and has garnered 585,000 views.

The streamer, Dean Schiller, began recording inside the supermarket soon after the attack. He continued recording from outside for more than three hours, despite when the police requested him to leave.

Schiller has identified himself in the past as a citizen journalist, and in 2019, he and another videographer were arrested and jailed for filming around the Boulder County Jail, following a series of videos that captured alleged police misconduct.

Some video commenters called Schiller out for not dialing 911 or attempting to help people fleeing the building, while some other news outlets and anti-extremism researchers criticised him for speculating on the shooter's motives, revealing police tactics and briefly filming the bodies of victims, the report said.