A decentralized platform that allows people to create Solana-based memecoin is under fire after users allegedly streamed disturbing and violent content into its livestream. The controversy has been accompanied with calls for stricter moderation or suspension of the livestreams.
It was the backlash that followed on November 25, when safety project manager Beau for Pudgy Penguins flagged a livestream in which a user threatened suicide if that user failed to bring his token to a certain market capitalization.
Pump.fun should have then stepped in to disable the feature, support the person. Beau asked that. He also asked for the livestreaming service be shut down entirely, describing the service as ‘out of control.’ Other concerning behavior has also been reported. An alleged gunner opened fire out of a window when their token was worth improving.
Pump.fun Defends Moderation Amid Growing Backlash
One involved a child making threatening remarks about harming family members based on the price of a token, another concerning a child who threatened to harm family members over a token’s price and the third about an individual who threatened to commit a violent act if their memecoin did not pan out as expected.
‘The feature, however, has come under sharp criticism by community members who called it a ‘pipeline of felonies’ one ‘X’ user tweeted this week. Some people also asked Pump.fun to turn off the feature until adequate moderation features are introduced.
‘Turning on a camera to prove your own depravity to anyone and everyone, aren’t the act noble or novel,’ read one user’s comment.
In response, the pseudonymous leader of Pump.fun Alon claimed the platform took measures to moderate its platforms. The team visits images, videos, livestreams and comments to watch for harmful content, Alon said. Since the platform’s launch, Alon has said moderation has been a priority.
“We have a large team of moderators working around the clock and an internal team of engineers that’s working on helping us deal with increased scale of coins, streams, and comments.”
But Pump.fun’s assurances — even despite these efforts — have yet to address the urgent risks posed by those dangerous broadcasts, critics say, and the company’s procedures seem too opaque for adequate oversight. The platform has yet to say whether it will increase safeguards on the platform or switch off the livestream feature to stop future platform incidences from occurring.
The incident further stokes calls for accountability away from a large company and onto the decentralized world, and raises larger questions about the role of community driven innovation versus safety of platforms like these.
