Instagram ‘ignored expert trying to limit suicide content’

‘Meta keeps children glued to the screen with extreme content. Our advice wasn’t taken into consideration’

META has been accused of prioritising profits over children’s welfare and trying to silence an eminent psychologist who quit her advisory role after her warnings about extreme content spreading unchecked on Instagram were ignored.

Lotte Rubaek, who sat on Meta’s global expert group for more than three years, resigned on Friday, alleging that the company focused on keeping children “glued to the screen” with extreme content and added: “I do not think our advice was taken into consideration.”

In a letter to the social media giant, Ms Rubaek, a Danish psychologist who specialises in treating self-harm cases at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Center in Denmark, said she no longer believed “our voice has a real positive impact on the safety of children and young people on your platform.”

Email correspondence obtained by The Telegraph confirms she had reported several Instagram posts in October 2021 from an influencer that were “clearly trying to inspire thinness/ eating disorder” in her 50,000 online followers. One photo, seen by this newspaper, features a topless, emaciated woman with her ribs sticking out.

However, Ms Rubaek received a message from Instagram saying it did not have sufficient moderators to act on it.

When she raised these concerns to Martin Ruby, director of public policy for Nordic countries at Meta, he replied on Nov 3: “Our people are looking at it, but it is not that simple.”

He added: “Even if some pictures violate the platform’s policies, as you point out and which I expect we can take down, there are many images that do not violate”.

Meta said: “Suicide and self-harm are complex issues and we take them incredibly seriously.

“We’ve consulted with experts … for many years and their feedback has helped us continue to make significant progress.

“Recently, we announced we’ll hide content [about] suicide and self-harm from teens – even if it’s shared by someone they follow.”