After New Zealand shooting spreads, ethics expert available to talk about the role and responsibility of social media platforms

What can and should social media companies do to prevent disturbing content like the recent New Zealand shooting from spreading?

Susan Smith, a lecturer of cognitive science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, researches the ethical issues around the handling of user data by social media companies. She is also in the process of developing an ethical model of internet consent. With degrees in both biology and philosophy, Smith has spent her career examining ethics in healthcare, research, and the biomedical field. She has also focused heavily on how philosophy, science and technology intersect.

With this background and expertise, Smith can talk about the ethical responsibilities social media platforms do, and should, have in identifying and removing disturbing content like the recent New Zealand shooting. In particular, Smith can talk about how users are affected by the actions of these companies.