Facebook and Instagram Made Changes to Their Policies on Self-Harm, Suicide

The moves were spurred in part by the death of British teen Molly Russell

Facebook and Instagram separately detailed changes they are implementing to their policies on content related to self-harm and suicide.

The changes were in part a reaction to Molly Russell, the British teen who took her own life in 2017 at the age of 14. The tragedy has returned to the headlines due to her father’s fight for access to her data from Instagram and other social platforms.

Facebook global head of safety Antigone Davis said in a Newsroom post that Facebook consulted with more than one-dozen experts in suicide prevention and safety in crafting four changes to how it enforces its policies.

The social network will continue to allow people to share admissions of self-harm and suicidal thoughts, but content that promotes such actions will be removed.

Davis

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