The Molly Rose Foundation says still enough is not being done to tackle harmful content online.<\/p>\n
The Molly Rose Foundation says harmful content is being sent to young people online at a higher rate than everAuthor: Claire BoadPublished 19th Aug 2025<\/p>\n
An internet safety charity has described the new Online Safety Act as a ‘sticking plaster’ over the issue of harm caused by content online.<\/p>\n
The Act aims to protect children and adults online, and gives social media companies and search engines legal duties to protect users from harmful and illegal content.<\/p>\n
But, the Molly Rose Foundation says the act currently barely scrapes the surface of the issue around harmful content.<\/p>\n
The charity was set up after 14-year-old Molly Russell took her life 8 years ago after viewing suicide content on social media.<\/p>\n
Now, the foundations Chief Executive Andy Burrows has told us enough is still not being done to prevent young people accessing this type of content online.<\/p>\n
”We know that in the UK we lose a young person to suicide where technology played a role every single week and this is preventable harm.<\/p>\n
”When we see Instagram and TikTok fail to address fundamental issues with their platforms, this is a deliberate choice not to make their platforms safe”.<\/p>\n
These calls come as new research from the charity found depression, suicide and self harm content still being recommended at a ‘vast scale’ to social media accounts opened as a 15 year old girl.<\/p>\n
Molly’s father Ian said he is concerned the issue is not going away and, in some ways, getting worse.<\/p>\n
”The harmful situation that lead in more than a minimal way to the death of my daughter has got worse rather than better.<\/p>\n
”If you strayed into the rabbit hole of harmful suicide self injury content, the platforms algorithmically will recommend more and more of that content.”<\/p>\n