Molly Russell inquest: Teen's tragic death sparks intense discussions on social media reforms
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
LONDON, ENGLAND: The tragic death of 14-year-old Molly Russell has been ruled by a London coroner as a suicide resulting from harmful social media posts. This 2017 suicide has now ignited discussions after her death was ruled “an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content."
Molly had liked more than 2000 pictures of depression, suicide, and self-harm on various social media platforms in the last six months before her death. Meanwhile, her father, Ian Russell, who managed her email account, ended up seeing emails with subject lines such as “10 depression pins you might like” piling up in her inbox.
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The tragic death of Molly Russell: How 'harmful' social media 'killed' 14-year-old
Officials from Pinterest and Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, insisted on the witness stating that the content the teenage girl accessed was not harmful. Child Psychiatrist Dr Navin Venugopal, who reviewed her social media content, stated the content she accessed was “very disturbing, distressing.” He also said, "I was not able to sleep well for a few weeks” after evaluating the content. It would certainly affect her and made her feel more hopeless.”
Coroner Andrew Walker also suggested, “The platforms operated in such a way, using algorithms, as to result in binge periods of images provided without Molly requesting them. It is likely that the material viewed by Molly … contributed to her death in a more than minimal way.” Attorney Matthew P Bergman of the Seattle-based Social Media Victims Law Center stated, “It’s the first time that a social media company has been adjudicated to be a cause of a child’s suicide."
According to New York Post, suicide in the 12-to-16 age group increased by 146% between 2009 and 2019, and a mother based out of Connecticut, Tammy Rodriguez, has sued Meta and Snap over the suicide death of her 11-year-old daughter Selena, termed the judgment as a “wonderful news.” Selena's case primarily focused on depression, eating disorders, and sexual exploitation before taking her own life, which she experienced through various social media content.
However, her sister, Destiny, stated, “We do this for Molly and Selena and every other beautiful girl who deserves better in this world." "Not that anything could bring the beautiful Molly back, but holding social media companies accountable will save children in the future," said Tammy.
Matthew P Bergman, an attorney also claimed, “It’s just a simple question of neurology. The dopamine response that an adolescent gets upon receiving a ‘like’ from Instagram or Facebook is four times greater than the dopamine response an adult gets." He further added, “These algorithms are very sophisticated artificial intelligence products, designed by social psychologists and computer scientists to addict our kids."
The attorney also alleged, “I mean, that’s what teenagers do — they make bad decisions. We all did at that age. But in the past, bad teen decisions didn’t stay online in perpetuity.”
Bergman also suggested, "What happened to Molly Russell was neither a coincidence nor an accident. It was a direct and foreseeable consequence of an algorithmic recommendation system designed to place user engagement over and above user safety." Attorney also said, “It’s profits over people." He further added, “What is most distressing is that technologies that would remove 80% of the risk of these products already exist and could be implemented in a matter of weeks, and these companies have decided, ‘Well, if we implement that, we’ll lose user engagement so that we won’t do it."
Later, Bergman claimed, “There is nothing in any of the platforms to ensure that people are the appropriate age and to ensure that they are who they say they are." Further, he added, "But this technology is off-the-shelf — dating apps like Tinder use it all the time. If technology is good enough for folks who want to hook up, good Lord, we should be providing it to our kids."
California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act is an initiation by the government to impose tight data privacy settings on the accounts of social media users under the age of 18 and require age verification for access. Bergman claims, "The bill has a lot of promise."
Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn), New York State Senate claimed, "We’re not trying to shut down social media. We’re just trying to put in place smart, thoughtful and important guardrails.” “If Instagram had done something as simple as let Molly reset her own algorithm without losing her friends or old posts, she might be alive today. She shouldn’t have had to choose between her past and her future," said Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower who leaked thousands of internal documents in 2021 to expose Facebook's addictive algorithm strategy.
GOP Sen Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee wrote The Kids Online Safety Act with Connecticut Democrat Sen Richard Blumenthal said, “Sen. Blumenthal and I have heard countless stories of the physical and emotional damage caused by social media, and Molly Russell’s story is utterly heartbreaking. The Kids Online Safety Act will require social media platforms to make safety — not profit — the default.”
Regarding the bill, Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower said, “It is awaiting a full vote before the Senate, whenever Leader Schumer decides protecting children online is a priority,” snarked a Senate aide.“I think it’s good that people on the right and on the left recognize that there are product design changes … that are necessary to keep kids safe, “We need to stop accepting that kids die from social media and act.”