Last week’s inquest ruling that social media contributed to Molly Russell’s death was the kind of vindication for her parents that no family would choose. With her father, Ian Russell, acting as spokesperson, Molly’s relatives have fought what must have been an exceptionally painful battle, since the 14-year-old took her own life in 2017, to see the tech companies that are partly responsible held to account. The coroner’s endorsement of their view that Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, and Pinterest had led a depressed girl down a dark path of disturbing content is a testament to the family’s commitment to make the internet a safer place.
Legislation to protect young people from dangerous online content has been in the pipeline for a long time – since the year of Molly’s death, in fact, when a green paper was produced. It was paused in July to make space for the no-confidence motion that toppled Boris Johnson. Then, in September, Liz Truss indicated that it would be watered down, taking on board concerns voiced by free-speech campaigners, including her leadership rival Kemi Badenoch, about the proposed new category of prohibited “legal but harmful” content.
