The dad of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life after seeing harmful material online has warned the cost of delays to regulating social media is “paid in young human lives”.
Molly Russell’s father Ian urged the next Prime Minister to “finish the job” in strengthening online safety laws. Molly, from Harrow, in north west London, saw more than 2,000 harmful posts about suicide, self-harm and depression in the last six months of her life.
Mr Russell said “almost astonishingly, and really quite tragically, too little has changed” since Molly died in November 2017 – despite promises from politicians. “In some respects, the risks for teens have actually got worse,” he said.
Describing how her legacy drives him, he told the Mirror: “We always said that we couldn’t wait for Molly to grow up because one of the things she most enjoyed in life was helping other people.
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Humphrey Nemar /daily mirror)
“She was one of the most caring people I’ve ever known. We couldn’t wait to see what she would do with the rest of her life. If only she was here to lead the way and to show us, but maybe in a way we can still do something in her name that will help other people and be as helpful as she would have wished.”
Mr Russell spoke to the Mirror ahead of an announcement expected this week about how the regulator can prevent children being exposed to harmful content, including suicide and self-harm material. While the Online Safety Act became law in October, Ofcom can’t use new powers to hold social media firms to account until the end of a lengthy consultation on updating its guidance.
Mr Russell said Ofcom’s last consultation, which looked at protecting people from illegal harms like stalking, grooming and harassment, was “really disappointing” and “too timid”. The Online Safety Act was originally proposed by Theresa May in 2019 but it took years to become law due to political chaos and divisions over the scope of the bill. Campaigners have previously accused the Government of watering it down.
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Humphrey Nemar /daily mirror)
Mr Russell said strengthening the bill was a “matter of life and death” and pointed to figures showing around 200 school-age children take their lives every year. “That’s four young people dying by suicide every week on average,” Mr Russell said. “Four people like Molly, four families like mine, four sets of school friends like Molly’s school friends.”
The inquest into Molly’s death concluded she died from “an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content”. Her family discovered she had seen a stream of disturbing posts, including one on Instagram which said: ‘Who would love a suicidal girl?’
“It’s not the most pleasant of posts but I, for one, would question on its own how harmful that post is,” Mr Russell said. “But in a stream of other such posts, black and white, depressive, nihilistic posts that just feed you in the hundreds or thousands, that are inescapable because algorithms are recommending them to you, then that becomes harmful.”
Mr Russell has accused social media companies of seeking to “monetise the misery of others” and said that if they wanted to act, platforms could be safer “this time next week”. He acknowledged Ofcom faces a “David and Goliath battle” against tech giants. But he said: “The cost of being slow in terms of online regulation is paid in young human lives.
“It’s a matter of urgency for the next Government that they pursue strengthening the Bill and repairing problems that have become identified so that we have a chance of keeping up with the pace of change that is set by the tech industry, which is lightning fast. I would call on Keir Starmer, if it is to be him. I’d call on Rishi Sunak, if it is to be him.
“Whoever is the next Prime Minister, I’d call on them not to neglect this and to finish the job that has been started because it would be really, really tragic to leave this half-done.”
His warning comes amid mounting alarm that mobile phones are providing a gateway to grim content for youngsters. Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered teenager Brianna, has been campaigning to age limits on smartphones and stricter controls on social media use for kids. One of Brianna’s killers, Scarlett Jenkinson, who was only 15 at the time, had been able to access videos of torture and murder on the dark web.
Research by Ofcom recently found around a quarter (24%) of children aged five to seven years old own a smartphone, while a third (34%) of three to seven-year-olds use social media. Rishi Sunak is said to be considering a crackdown on youngsters’ access to platforms like Facebook and Instagram, as well as a potential ban on allowing teens to buy their own smartphones.
A Government spokesman said: “Ian Russell continues to show incredible strength in unimaginable circumstances and the Government shares his determination to ensure our children are protected online.
“The Online Safety Act will make the UK the safest place in the world for children to be online, requiring companies to take robust action to protect children from harmful content, illegal activity, and abuse. Companies that do not comply can face fines of up to 10% of their global annual revenue, potentially up to billions of pounds.”
Tragic British teens found dead after absorbing online content
Isaac Kenevan
Isaac Kenevan, 13, was found dead in the bathroom at his family’s home in Basildon in Essex in March 2022 after it is believed he took part in an online “choking challenge”. The boy’s mum Lisa has since campaigned for schools to raise more awareness about the dangers of online trends and dares that their children could be viewing.
Christoforos Nicolaou
Christoforos Nicolaou, 15, from Cheshunt in Hertfordshire took his own life in March 2022 after joining an online forum where he received “horrific messages”. His parents George and Areti Nicolaou set up a charity encouraging teenagers to spend less time online and support parents worried about their children.
Maia Walsh
Maia Walsh, 13, was found dead at her home in Hertford in Hertfordshire in October 2022 after she is thought to have killed herself accidentally after watching videos on TikTok. Her dad, Liam said she had ‘liked’ two self harm videos before her death and had previously mentioned a social media game. Following her death, he described Maia as an “enlightening little girl” who had the ability of walking into a room and have everyone “roaring with laughter”.
– The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.