British Girl’s Suicide Puts Spotlight On Social Media

Nearly five years ago Molly Russell committed suicide and took her own life and now the inquest into the death of the teenager has  begun.

Thirty other families have accused technology giants of abetting their children’s suicides in the wake of the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell, as the health secretary told social media sites to take responsibility for their effect on young lives.

Molly, 14, killed herself in 2017 after viewing material about self-harm, suicide and depression, on social media sites such as Instagram and Pinterest.

Her father, Ian, has worked hard campaigning for online safety and he hopes it is a turning point. Mr. Russell, from north-west London, believes long-term exposure to harmful material contributed to Molly's death and her story provided fresh impetus for new legislation to regulate so-called big tech companies.

In Britain, the Online Safety Bill is still making its way through Parliament and is due a third reading in the Commons. Ian Russell, who now runs the Molly Rose Foundation in memory of his daughter, said he was pleased to see the Government’s white paper include a focus on content that promote self-harm and suicide, which he called a “hidden and harmful” part of the Internet.

Meta, which owns Instagram, and Pinterest are officially taking part in the inquest, which is due to last two weeks. It will hear evidence from executives from both companies, after they were ordered by the coroner to appear in person. Meta is likely to be questioned about a number of internal documents revealed by the former Facebook employee and whistleblower, Frances Haugen. These include research carried out by the company into the impact of the platform on the mental health of young people.

In the last six months of her life, Molly used her Instagram account up to 120 times a day, liking more than 11,000 pieces of content. She is thought to have used the image-sharing site Pinterest more than 15,000 times over the same period.

Mr Russell has previously stated his “absolute certainty” that the content viewed by Molly on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide had played a part in his daughter’s death in 2017.

MEN:      BBC:    Yahoo:    MSN:     The Times:    User Walls: 

You Might Also Read: 

Dutch Town Sues Twitter For Paedophile Conspiracy: