Facebook announced that it would block the live broadcast service for a Frenchman suffering from an incurable disease who decided to broadcast his last hours in a live broadcast on the social media platform.
Alan Cook, 57, suffers from a very rare disease that causes the walls of his blood vessels to stick together, causing interruptions or limitations in blood flow to tissues or organs.
Cook announced earlier that he would stop consuming food, fluids and medicines, after French President Emmanuel Macron refused to give him permission to euthanize.
Cook expected to live less than a week, indicating that he would transfer his last hours directly through his Facebook page, starting this Saturday morning.
And Facebook announced today that its systems do not allow the publication of pictures and scenes of suicides, and a spokesperson for the site told the French Press Agency, "Despite our respect for (Cook's) decision aimed at drawing attention to his complex problem, we have taken - on the advice of experts - measures to prevent live broadcasts through Alan's account. ... our systems do not allow us to display suicide attempts. "
On Saturday, Cook tried to post another video clip in which he complained that the network had banned the live broadcast of the video on his page until September 8.
"It is up to you now," he wrote, addressing his supporters, before publishing the Facebook address in France, calling on his followers to send messages to the company in protest against "its methods of preventing freedom of expression."
Cook wrote a letter to the Elysee Palace asking French President Emmanuel Macron to allow a doctor to prescribe a type of barbiturate (drugs depressing the nervous system), so that he "can leave in peace."
Macron responded in a letter to Cook, which Agence France-Presse obtained a copy of, stating, "Because I am not above the law, I cannot fulfill your request. I cannot ask anyone to bypass our current legal framework."