A Pinner-based charity has issued a stark warning after new research revealed that Instagram and TikTok continue to push harmful suicide and self-harm content to teenagers.
Founded in memory of Pinner schoolgirl Molly Russell, The Molly Rose Foundation is sounding the alarm after data showed that social media algorithms are still flooding teens’ feeds with distressing material.
Molly’s father, Ian Russell (pictured), has been campaigning to removal harmful content from social media since 2017, when Molly died from an act of self-harm after suffering from the negative effects of online content.
The charity shared that an inquest heard Molly saw 2,100 suicide, self-harm and depression posts on Instagram alone in the six months before she died and concluded that social media contributed to her death.
Since her death, her family has campaigned through the foundation, based in Pinner, to protect young people online.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said: “Harmful algorithms continue to bombard teenagers with shocking levels of harmful content. On the most popular platforms for young people, this can happen at an industrial scale.”
The charity argues that the new Online Safety Act does not go far enough and is calling for stronger protections around algorithm design.
Ian recently appeared on Sky News to issue their warning.
He said: “It is horrifying that the harmful situation that led, in a more than minimal way, to the death of my daughter has got worse rather than better.
“Our world is taking too long to react… this isn’t the right pace of change to keep up with the lightning-fast pace of tech.
“It’s possible to save young lives and the tech platforms are choosing not to.”
Gregor Poynton MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on children’s online safety, said: “This damning report highlights how social media companies are still unforgivably pushing the most devastating harmful content to children as the Online Safety Act comes into force.
“We urgently need to tackle these issues head on and parents will rightly judge us by whether we do everything possible to protect their children from this pervasive and preventable harm.”
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