coroner issued “biggest” warning for inquest into schoolgirl’s death Molly Russell – as the court was shown videos of “the most disturbing nature” that the teen liked or kept on Instagram.
Coroner Andrew Walker told the inquest that the 17 clips appeared to “harm young people” and told those in attendance to leave if they were likely to be affected by the material.
On Friday the head of health and wellness at the parent company of Instagram metaElizabeth Lagone, defended the social media platform’s content policy, saying that suicide and self-harm material could have been posted by a user as a “cry for help”.
Ms Lagone told the court that it was an important consideration of the company, even in its policy at the time of Molly’s death, to “consider the wide and unbelievable damage that could be done by fighting (of a poster) silencing to bring”.
Before the clips were played, North London The coroner’s court heard lawyers and the coroner had discussed in advance whether they should be edited because they were “so uncomfortable to watch.”
The coroner said: “But Molly had no such choice, so we would essentially edit the footage for adult viewing if it was available in a raw form for a child.”
Molly, from Harrow in north-west London, died in November 2017, prompting her family to campaign for better internet safety.
Instagram’s guidelines at the time, shown to the court, said users could post content about suicide and self-harm to “facilitate getting together to support other users”, but not if it “encouraged or promotes”.
Describing footage the court was about to see, the coroner said on Friday: “It is of the most disturbing nature and it is almost impossible to look at.
“If you are likely to be affected by such videos, don’t stop watching them.”
The coroner turned to the schoolgirl’s family and said, “You don’t have to stay.
“In my opinion, this series of video images should be seen (by the court).”
The court then played the clips, which involved suicide, drugs, alcohol, depression and self-harm.
Molly’s family decided to stay in court while the videos played, but the coroner chose to take a 15-minute break afterward.
Ms Lagone then went to the witness stand before the coroner said: “My premise is that the internet is a very dangerous place for those who enter it.
“Every effort must be made to make that journey as safe as possible.”
When asked by family attorney Oliver Sanders KC whether it was clear it was not safe for children to see “graphic suicide images,” the director said, “I don’t know…these are complicated issues.”
Mr. Sanders drew the witness’s attention to experts who informed Meta that it was not safe for children to view the material, before asking, “Had they told you otherwise before?”
Ms. Lagone replied: “We have ongoing discussions with them, but there are some … issues we are talking to them about.”
On Thursday, Pinterest’s head of community activities, Judson Hoffman, apologized after admitting the platform was “not safe” when the 14-year-old was using it.
Mr Hoffman said he “deeply regrets” posts viewed by Molly on Pinterest before her death, saying it was material he “wouldn’t show to my kids”.
The judicial investigation, which will last up to two weeks, continues.