WASHINGTON, D.C. (Rocktown Now) – Senator Tim Kaine is calling for an investigation into Google and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, over their failure to take down graphic footage showing the murder of two journalists nearly a decade ago.

The tiff stems from the killing of WDBJ7 reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward near Roanoke in August 2015.

Franklin County Sheriff Bill Overton Jr. confirmed the murders during a press conference at the time.

“A WDBJ TV news crew was conducting a live interview at the Plaza with Miss Gardner when Vester Lee Flanagan II, age 41, suddenly appeared and approached them and started shooting,” Overton said in a video from the press conference. “Alison Parker, age 24, and Adam Ward, age 27, died at the scene.”

Parker was a 2012 graduate of James Madison University, where she was a journalism student in JMU’s School of Media Arts & Design.

In a press release on Friday, Senator Kaine said that both he and Andy Parker, Alison Parker’s father, have repeatedly asked the tech giants to take down the footage, to no avail.

He’s now urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google and Meta over violating their own Terms of Service against “harmful and violent content.” In an open letter to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan, Kaine said the platforms shift the burden of finding and removing content onto the victims’ families.

“I urge the FTC to promptly respond to Mr. Parker’s complaints and work closely with Mr. Parker to address his concerns,” Kaine wrote. “I also encourage the FTC to explore all possible avenues to ensure that companies like Google and Meta provide consumers with an experience free from violent and harmful content as claimed by their Terms of Service.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.