18-year-old Peter Kolohe was arraigned today for vandalising over a dozen businesses on Front Street, resulting in over a million dollars worth of damage. Thousands watched Kolohe over the weekend live stream his crimes and take “requests” about what to destroy next. However, according to his attorneys, it is that goading from the public, and the improperly functioning privacy setting in his Manimal X-eyez extreme vision app, that is truly responsible for his frenzy of destruction.
It all started on Saturday when Kolohe and some friends came upon a car parked over the lines in a community lot along Front street. The group decided to teach the car’s owner “a lesson on how to park.” It was at this point Peter decided to broadcast the “lesson” to his followers using his X-eyez app. Instead of broadcasting the tire slashing to a handful of friends however, a glitch in the app’s latest software update caused the video to be available to the public. Soon hundreds of people were watching and urging Kolohe to find other bad parkers.
Word spread quickly. More people began tuning into the livestream and suggesting other targets of retribution for Kolohe. For the next 4 hours, goaded on by those watching, the young man damaged over 20 vehicles and vandalized dozens of businesses. Peter’s crime spree became the most watched live stream in Hawaii for a few hours before authorities finally caught up to him.
According to the official report and those watching the arrest in real time, Kolohe told the police that he didn’t intend to openly broadcast his activities but was glad that he did because “there are a lot of people out there who think they can take advantage of others” and that he was just “handing out some karmic justice.”
In a brief statement released this morning, his attorneys say, “Peter will have to answer for his crimes, but Manimal must be held accountable too. It is clear that If not for this app and its faulty design, many store owners would not be talking to their insurance companies this morning.” Since it’s unveiling to the public a few months ago, the Manimal X-eyez app has received its fair share of criticism. Many safety and privacy advocates warned that the app would encourage risky or dangerous behavior, especially among children and teenagers. Kolohe’s actions over the weekend seem to give a bit a validity to those concerns.
Manimal CEO Spencer Kane disagrees.
“We made the X-eyez app so our fans could share their most intense adventures in the most hi-tech way possible with other Manimal lovers. We didn’t make it so you could share your most extreme acts of vandalism. Frankly, we are super bummed that this young man decided to use our technology this way. For the record, the problem with our software update that led to all streams being set to “Public” was fixed as soon as we became aware of the issue. We believe that using our app as an excuse for committing crimes is really lame. Let me be clear on this point, streaming your: jumps, dives, cool board tricks, and intense workouts is cool and what the app was meant for. Slashing tires, smashing windows, and destroying private property is for sure NOT cool. It’s not cool at all. In fact I’d say that Manimal itself is probably too intense for Peter and he should probably stick with less awesome drinks like seltzer water or apple juice.”
Yet, some critics disagree and insist that Manimal and society in general, must shoulder some of the blame. Lahaina resident and noted author about the dangers of a “streaming society”, Kevin Morrow says that Kane and company should have known how dangerous their product was. He says that many young men like Kolohe are powerless to resist bad influences from a group, and has named the condition, “Incitis”.
“Laws are based on commonly accepted norms and what society has deemed to be the rules necessary for civil interactions. But inside these streaming communities the norms can be quite different. Impressionable people can be easily influenced and can come to believe that everything being suggested is normal behavior. Many people laughed when I warned of the societal dangers the radio tower would bring. Those problems pale in comparison when you look at the effects of incitis on the psyche. It was bad enough when people were just playing games live, but now that life streaming is becoming more common, the lines between games and reality can become blurry. We should consider ourselves lucky that a confused Peter didn’t don a breastplate and rampage through the streets looking for armor upgrades or steal a high-end sports car and race around Lahaina trying to win some sort of fictitious achievement. In my opinion, we started our journey down this slippery slope months ago, when the X-eyez app was released to an unprepared public.”
