Streaming Tragedy

I recently came across an item in Time about a 19-year-old boy who committed suicide during a live video chat. The father is now calling for the filing of criminal charges, but the owners of Justin.tv insisted that they are free from any liability whatsoever. Worse, they claim that they are now "confident that all online community members will be ever more vigilant in monitoring and protecting their fellow users in the future." They sure do trust their members a lot. It may seem like the height of injustice for the website to deny any semblance of liability for providing the main forum that allowed such a tragedy to happen, but you cannot really blame the owners for the lack of administration or control over what goes on during the live broadcasts. That is after all the very essence of the service they provide. People from all over the world control a network of diverse channels by streaming events online. The creator of the website first thought of the idea by attaching a webcam on his person to be able to stream events to an online channel 24/7. Similar to the Truman Show, but at least he knew he was being watched. And now several issues are arising as to whether those who witnessed the suicide are also to blame, as though they acted as a form of enabler to the boy's unbalanced mental state. Teenage suicide is tragic enough as it is without the added horror of it being witnessed by disinterested strangers. Oftentimes, the reality behind a human experience is really magnified whenever it transpires online.