Facebook's identity crisis: is the social media platform a publisher or not?

Facebook logos are pictured on the screens of a smartphone (R), and a laptop computer, in central London on November 21, 2016.
Facebook on Monday became the latest US tech giant to announce new investment in Britain with hundreds of extra jobs but hinted its success depended on skilled migration after Britain leaves the European Union. The premier social network underlined London's status as a global technology hub at a British company bosses' summit where Prime Minister Theresa May sought to allay business concerns about Brexit. / AFP / Justin TALLIS (Photo credit should read JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Following the gruesome Cleveland murder that was uploaded to Facebook, a question has been hotly debated: is the social media platform, in fact, a publisher?

It might have just been another murder story. An elderly man in Cleveland, Robert Godwin was shot. Another incident of gun violence.

But then, a video of the murder was uploaded to Facebook.

Tuesday morning, police in Pennsylvania report the suspect, the man who posted the video, shot and killed himself after being chased by authorities.

This incident has re-ignited a long-simmering debate about the company's responsibilities to its users and whether it's just a 'platform' or something more than that.

Laura Davis is Digital News Director of the Annenberg Media Center at USC, she joined A Martinez to discuss Facebook's evolving platform and where the company goes from here.

To listen to the full segment, click the blue play button above.