Schoolgirl, 14, died after suffering 'negative effects of online content', coroner concludes

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A 14-year-old school girl died after suffering from 'negative effects of online content, a senior coroner has concluded. Andrew Walker told an inquest into the death of Molly Russell that she had viewed content on Instagram and Pinterest that "was not safe" and "shouldn't have been available for a child to see".

The coroner avoided concluding that the cause of Molly's death was suicide, stating that she "died from an act of self-harm while suffering depression and the negative effects of online content".

The inquest heard how Molly accessed material from the "ghetto of the online world" before her death in November 2017. Her family argued that sites such as Pinterest and Instagram recommended accounts to the young girl that 'promoted' suicide and self-harm.

Speaking during the hearing at North London Coroner’s Court on Friday, Mr Walker said: “At the time that these sites were viewed by Molly, some of these sites were not safe as they allowed access to adult content that should not have been available for a 14-year-old child to see." Read more: A 'never ending nightmare'...Vile sex beast who subjected girls to horrendous abuse finally faces justice He continued: "The way that the platforms operated meant that Molly had access to images, video clips and text concerning or concerned with self-harm, suicide or that were otherwise negative or depressing in nature. “The platform operated in such a way using algorithms as to result, in some circumstances, of binge periods of images, video clips and text – some of which were selected and provided without Molly requesting them.