Home / Technology / Suicide and Self-Harm Content Still Rampant on Social Media, Molly Rose Foundation Warns
Suicide and Self-Harm Content Still Rampant on Social Media, Molly Rose Foundation Warns
18 Aug
Summary
- Molly Rose Foundation finds harmful content still recommended to teen accounts
- Algorithms on TikTok and Instagram 'putting young lives at risk'
- Calls for Prime Minister to introduce tougher online safety measures
According to a new report by the Molly Rose Foundation, social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are still recommending harmful suicide, self-harm, and depression content to teenage users at an "industrial scale" - even eight years after the tragic death of 14-year-old Molly Russell.
The foundation, set up by Molly's father Ian Russell, found that the material currently being recommended on these platforms would have the same "deeply disturbing" impact as the content Molly viewed before her death in 2017. The report claims that 97% of the videos recommended on Instagram Reels and 96% of those on TikTok's "For You" page were harmful.
The Molly Rose Foundation is now calling on the Prime Minister to introduce tougher measures to stop this "preventable harm" from happening on his watch. They argue that the Online Safety Act's child safety codes are not strong enough to address the "sheer scale of harm" being suggested to vulnerable users.
Ian Russell, the foundation's chairman, described the situation as "staggering" and said it is time for the Prime Minister to be "strong" and bring forward "strengthened, life-saving legislation without delay." The charity's research suggests that the problem has either remained unchanged or worsened since its previous report in 2023.
