Is police brutality at an all-time high or is our technology becoming better equipped to document these injustices?

If you believe it is the latter, then we need your help to ask our technology leaders to improve the speed in which we're able to live stream emergency situations.

As more video of police brutality surfaces on our social feeds, we see more and more Americans uniting in the fight against these injustices. We see friends and family that were once quiet, speaking out against the reckless behavior that has put our communities at risk of dying over a routine traffic stop. The ability to see first hand what is happening is a powerful tool for change.

Problem:

The current available live streaming solutions are not fast enough for emergency situations like police brutality. Live streaming is only available with a strong WiFi or cell tower connection and is not currently available as an "emergency" feature.

Live streaming is a new smartphone feature made popular by social media companies like Periscope and Facebook. The technology allows anyone to start a live video stream and share that video with the world in real time. Many use the technology to share their experiences with their friends and family.

Live video stream has also proven to be valuable in exposing police brutality in the United States and abroad. Unfortunately, the live video apps available are not fast enough because its not a "baked in" feature. When recording an emergency like police brutality every second counts. The current steps to live stream eats up these precious seconds.

Currently, the steps needed to live stream an event is as follows:

Unlock your phone Locate and open the live streaming app (Facebook Live, Periscope, etc.) Press the live stream button Input the required fields (title of video, category, etc.) Press record

Live streaming is also not available if you do not have strong cell phone signal.

Solution:

Encourage smartphone makers (Apple, Google, Microsoft) to work with software companies that provide live streaming services (Facebook, Periscope, Meerkat) to introduce a more integrated live streaming feature that is baked right into the phone's software, i.e. put the live stream button on our home screens next to the emergency call button. Encourage our law makers and the FCC to work with mobile data providers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile etc.) to treat emergency live video streaming like 911 emergency calls placed on smartphones, where the transmission is pushed through to the nearest cell tower regardless whether the user is signed up for that provider's services or not.

Because Facebook, Periscope and the like are 3rd party apps and not a part of the iOS or Android ecosystem, the live streaming ability is available via a mobile app and not on prime "real estate" like the lock screen. In addition, if you do not have a strong internet connection, as we often do not on our phones, you may not be able to live stream the emergency.

If Apple and Google worked together with companies offering live streaming services we could move the ability to live stream right onto our home screens. Swiping up or clicking the "Emergency Live Video" would instantly begin recording and sharing on your social networks. In addition, if the FCC classified emergency live video streaming the same as 911 emergency calls, the live video stream would be pushed through by the nearest cell tower regardless if the user is signed up for that provider's services or not.

Ending Thoughts:

The recent deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling has affected all of us. I personally feel helpless in helping prevent these horrible events from happening.The proposal I present to you today comes from my passion for technology and my desire to help those who are being killed by police officers every day. Will improving live streaming technology completely eliminate our problem? No. But, as more video surfaces, we see more and more Americans uniting in the fight against police brutality. We see friends and family that were once quiet, speaking out against these injustices. The ability to see first hand what is happening is a powerful tool for change.

Live video steaming is a powerful tool that helps our communities expose police brutality. We can make the ability to live stream emergency events faster and more widely accessible by encouraging our technology leaders, service providers and politicians to classify live streaming as an emergency service and put the ability to live stream right on our home screen.

I invite you to sign this petition and encourage our tech leaders and politicians to help provide us with the tools we need to show the world what is happening in our communities.