Facebook's being a bully again, this time over Prisma's live video filters
In yet another case of "giant tech company choking out startup," Facebook has reportedly blocked Prisma's super gnarly art filters from working with Facebook Live videos.
Facebook claims the Prisma app's use of its Live Video API doesn't comply with terms and conditions, according to TechCrunch. Facebook claims the API is only for publishing live video from non-mobile devices such as professional cameras and drones.
"Your app streams video from a mobile device camera, which can already be done through the Facebook app. The Live Video API is meant to let people publish live video content from other sources such as professional cameras, multi-camera setups, games or screencasts," Facebook told Prisma.
A quick check with Facebook's FAQ for the Live Video API seems to support the company's claim:
However, the FAQ doesn't explicitly say that third-party apps like Prisma can't publish live video to Facebook via a smartphone's cameras.
Which just makes a stronger case that Facebook, which is working on its own live art filters for Facebook Live, doesn't want any competition.
In other words, if you want live art filters for your Facebook Live videos, you're going to have to use Facebook's own. Controlling much?
Unfortunately, there might be nothing Prisma can do about the sad turn of events. Facebook has the right to restrict access to its platforms if it feels a third-party app that duplicates its features threatens its own. "It's up to Facebook to decide which devices or apps can broadcast to FB and we respect their policy," Prisma CEO Alexy Moiseenkov said in a statement sent to Mashable.
"We were trying to fix the issue but Facebook has a strong policy, they only let broadcast to different cameras, drones. Our app is no drone or camera. So this means we cannot do it," Prisma co-founder Aram Airapetyan told TechCrunch.
Airapetyan says Prisma still has plans for live video support and is considering alternative live streaming platforms that might be able to use its art filters.
"We have big plans for Live streaming and will bring something interesting for our users in the beginning of 2017," Airapetyan told Mashable. "For the time being, we're focused on making Prisma more social and will launch a very cool and unique feature in the middle of December."
Mashable has reached out to Facebook for further clarification and will update this story if we receive a response.
Topics Facebook
Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.
