'No more victims': Cyber security expert discusses role of social media in New Zealand attack

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — New questions are being raised about the role of social media after the horrific terror attack on two mosques in New Zealand.

The death toll remains at 49, but several people are still in intensive care including a 4-year-old who is in critical condition. The suspected gunman, Brenton Tarrant, appeared in court Friday while the two other armed suspects are in custody as police work to figure out their role, if any, in the attack.

The horror of the shooting played out live on a Facebook stream, but Facebook was not aware of what was happening. Officials said police had to tell them.

Channel 9 spoke with a local expert who said more can be done to not only block this kind of content, but alert authorities to it.

"It's possible that the social media companies could see that something is an active shooter event and they could've engaged authorities to try and save lives," Cyber security expert Teresa Payton said.

Payton runs a consulting firm called Fortalice Solutions.

Payton's experience includes the White House.

"This individual left a vast digital footprint about their angry, about their hatred. We've had enough of these now. We need to stand up as a country and around the globe and say, no more victims," Payton said.

Payton said there are several measure that could help.

One involves establishing an online delay, similar to television. She also suggested using artificial intelligence and human moderators to screen the video before it's released.

"Why we're not doing that yet, I don't understand because the technology is there. We can use AL and machine learning to spot a tragedy in the moment, take it offline, and let the authorities know someone needs help," Payton said.

Payton told Channel 9's DaShawn Brown one thing houses of worship can do is invest in their own social media monitoring services in their region. She said this is not the answer, but it could help with prevention.

Cox Media Group