Online material viewed by schoolgirl Molly Russell “was not safe” and “shouldn’t have been available for a child to see”, Senior Coroner Andrew Walker has concluded. Coroner Andrew Walker voiced concerns at North London Coroner’s Court about online platforms during the two-week long inquest, saying the opportunity to make social media safe must not “slip away”.
Molly Russell died from an act of self-harm while suffering from “depression and the negative effects of online content”, a coroner has found.
In a conclusion at North London Coroner’s Court, Coroner Andrew Walker said: “Molly was at a transition period in her young life which made certain elements of communication difficult.”
He added the 14-year-old was “exposed to material that may have influenced her in a negative way and, in addition, what had started as a depression had become a more serious depressive illness”.
Mr Walker said he did not “think it would be safe” to leave suicide as a conclusion for himself to consider, instead finding Molly “died from an act of self-harm while suffering depression and the negative effects of online content”.
The coroner said some of the content Molly viewed was “particularly graphic” and “normalised her condition,” focusing on a “limited” view without any counter-balance.
Molly, from Harrow in north-west London, ended her life in November 2017 aged 14, prompting her family to campaign for better internet safety. The inquest heard how the teenager accessed material from the “ghetto of the online world”, with her family arguing that sites such as Pinterest and Instagram recommended accounts or posts that “promoted” suicide and self-harm.
The head of health and wellbeing at Instagram’s parent company Meta and the head of community operations at Pinterest have both apologised at the inquest for content Molly viewed. Meta executive Elizabeth Lagone said she believed posts which the Russell family argued “encouraged” suicide were safe when the teenager viewed them.
Pinterest’s Judson Hoffman told the inquest the site was “not safe” when Molly used it. The inquest was told out of the 16,300 posts Molly saved, shared or liked on Instagram in the six-month period before her death, 2,100 were depression, self-harm or suicide-related.
The court was played 17 clips the teenager viewed on the site – prompting “the greatest of warning” from the coroner. The inquest also heard details of emails sent to Molly by Pinterest, with headings such as “10 depression pins you might like” and “new ideas for you in depression”.
Molly Russell turned to celebrities for help while she was suffering from depression, not realising there was little prospect of a reply, a coroner has said.
Some of the content she viewed online “romanticised acts of self-harm” and, due to the use of algorithms, she was exposed to some images, video clips and text that she had not requested, Coroner Andrew Walker said.
“Molly turned to celebrities for help without realising there was little prospect of a reply,” he said.
In his conclusions following the inquest into the death of Molly Russell, Senior Coroner Andrew Walker said: “At the time that these sites were viewed by Molly, some of these sites were not safe as they allowed access to adult content that should not have been available for a 14-year-old child to see.
“The way that the platforms operated meant that Molly had access to images, video clips and text concerning or concerned with self-harm, suicide or that were otherwise negative or depressing in nature.
“The platform operated in such a way using algorithms as to result, in some circumstances, of binge periods of images, video clips and text – some of which were selected and provided without Molly requesting them.
“These binge periods, if involving this content, are likely to have had a negative effect on Molly.”
Continuing his conclusions in the inquest of Molly Russell, Coroner Andrew Walker said: “Other content sought to isolate and discourage discussion with those who may have been able to help.
“Molly turned to celebrities for help not realising there was little prospect of a reply.
“In some cases, the content was particularly graphic, tending to portray self-harm and suicide as an inevitable consequence of a condition that could not be recovered from.
“The sites normalised her condition focusing on a limited and irrational view without any counterbalance of normality.
“It is likely that the above material viewed by Molly, already suffering with a depressive illness and vulnerable due to her age, affected her mental health in a negative way and contributed to her death in a more than minimal way.
“Molly Rose Russell died from an act of self-harm whist suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content.”
In a statement after the coroner’s conclusion, NSPCC chief executive Sir Peter Wanless condemned what he described as Meta and Pinterest’s “abject failure” to protect Molly from content no child should ever see.
Sir Peter said: “Finally, Molly’s family have the answers they deserve thanks to their determination to see Meta and Pinterest questioned under oath about the part they played in their daughter and sister’s tragic death.
“The ruling should send shockwaves through Silicon Valley – tech companies must expect to be held to account when they put the safety of children second to commercial decisions. The magnitude of this moment for children everywhere cannot be understated.
“Molly’s family will forever pay the price of Meta and Pinterest’s abject failure to protect her from content no child should see, but the Online Safety Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reverse this imbalance between families and Big Tech.
“This must be a turning point and further delay or watering down of the legislation that addresses preventable abuse of our children would be inconceivable to parents across the UK.”
