A week-long trial recently occurred concerning the suicide case of 14-year-old Molly Russell. The result came out on Friday, Sept. 30, ruling that the social media companies and platforms, particularly Meta and Pinterest, are legally responsible for the death of the teenager, who died in November 2017.
Senior coroner Andrew Walker of the North London Coroner's Court investigated the case, reaching this conclusion.
The coroner confirmed, "Molly Rose Russell died from an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content ... [the internet] affected her mental health in a negative way and contributed to her death in a more than minimal way." He added that self-harm contents should never be available for children to view.
Since the trial was neither a criminal nor a civil trial, the said social media makers do not face penalties as a result.
Russell's family pursued the case against the technology firms, hoping to raise awareness of the dangers of harmful online content that are accessible to the younger generation.
Ian Russell, Molly's father, stated, "It's time to protect our innocent young people instead of allowing [social media] platforms to prioritize their profits by monetizing the misery of children."
Also Read: Social Media Platforms That Fail to Ban Suicide, Self-Harm Content Might Face Multi-Million Fines
Molly's Death in 2017
On a typical evening on November 20, 2017, Molly and her family had dinner together, then sat down at the lounge to watch a TV show. The kid's mother, Molly Russell, even recalled how normal everybody's behavior was that night.
The following day at 7am, Molly's state shocked every person in the household. The teenager harmed herself and was found lifeless in her bedroom. She was 14 at the time.
Her father described her suffering as a "demented trail of life-sucking content" offered by some social media sites.
The Warning Signs
Days before the tragic event, Mr. Russell recollected from his memory that Molly had become "more withdrawn." She sought private space, spending more time alone inside her bedroom.
He also noticed a usual case of "teenage mood swings."
He tried to talk to his daughter about what was happening. She somehow reassured her father that it was only a phase she had been going through.
However, it appeared that there was a deeper explanation of Molly's actions.
Molly had an Instagram account and saved, liked, and shared over 16,000 posts. Two thousand of these contents were dark and distressing, romanticizing self-harm activities.
There were clips from the American TV series "13 Reasons Why," which followed the story of a teenage student who took her own life.
Remembering Molly
Mr. Russell knew his daughter as a girl who was "full of love and hope and happiness," and "full of promise and opportunity and potential."
Molly was just like any other British teenager. She was a huge fan of the Harry Potter franchise and rock bands, specifically 5 Seconds Of Summer. She was into music and fashion.
Related Article: Meta and Snap Sued by Mother of 11-Year Old Who Passed Away Due to Social Media Addiction
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Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
