“Suffering should not become an instrument of choice”: Spreading images of ineligible cable car crashes in Italy

This Wednesday, June 16, Italian public television aired images of the Roy 3 crash by blurring the cabin. In these surveillance camera recordings, we see the cable car cabin suddenly descending with the cable and coming up at the level of a pylon, before falling into the vacuum. Then the Italian media covered them in whole or in part.

The public television channel has since come under fire. Olympia Posey, the attorney in charge of the investigation, said in a statement that “although the suspects in this case were aware of the presence of the video, the relatives were not informed and the broadcast of the video was prohibited.” He therefore condemned the decision, insisting that “the suffering of the families of the victims should not be exacerbated by such efforts.”

The Italian Data Protection Authority has asked users of the media and social networks not to share images so that “suffering does not become a tool for preferences”.

Roy’s leader Marcello Fova also wanted to speak. “I always respect the editorial choices of directors and I have always avoided commenting publicly about them, but I can not remain silent on this matter because Roy is president,” the daily told IL. Before proceeding according to Photo Codidiano, he declared, “In situations like this, it is the duty of the public service to carefully evaluate all impacts, starting with ethical impacts and respect for victims and their families.”

Various political figures were also outraged. According to Avvenire.it, Laura Caravini (Italy Viva-Sai) said that “the press has nothing to do with the conduct of death”.