Meta Platforms—UK coroner ruled Instagram content contributed to 14-year-old Molly Russell's death in landmark ruling
On September 30, 2022, North London coroner Andrew Walker ruled that Molly Russell's death in November 2017 was 'an act of self-harm suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content.' This was the first ruling to formally attribute a child's death to social media content. The inquest found that of 16,300 posts Molly saved, shared or liked on Instagram in the six months before her death, 2,100 were related to depression, self-harm or suicide. The coroner found the platforms were 'not safe' and issued a prevention of future deaths report to Meta and Pinterest.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Safety | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Content Moderation | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Mental Health | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.567 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.68)× agency (negligent ×0.5)
Evidence (2 signals)
Coroner issued prevention of future deaths report to Meta after Molly Russell inquest
Following the inquest, coroner Andrew Walker issued a prevention of future deaths report and wrote to Meta and the UK government. Meta executive Elizabeth Lagone told the inquest the company regretted Molly saw policy-violating content, but controversially stated some self-harm content was 'safe' for children to view.
North London coroner ruled Molly Russell's death was caused by self-harm and negative effects of online content
Coroner Andrew Walker concluded Molly Russell's death was 'an act of self harm suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content,' the first ruling formally attributing a child's death to social media.