Now Facebook vows to block self-harm images

FACEBOOK has vowed to ban graphic images of selfharm as social media companies step up their efforts to clamp down on gory content influencing children.

In a blog post shared on Thursday, Facebook’s global head of safety Antigone Davis said the social network had consulted a number of experts in suicide prevention to determine how best to deal with troubled young users.

She said that while graphic images of self-harm would be banned, users would still be allowed to ‘share admissions’ of self-harm and suicidal thoughts so they can be connected with those who can help.

Miss Davis added: ‘ We constantly re- examine how we’re doing as we develop new products or see people using our services in new ways.

‘In some cases, it might be a single experience that causes us to pause and question whether we need to make changes. And that’s what we’ve done following the tragic death of a young girl by suicide in the UK.’

She said experts from ten countries had advised that Facebook ‘should allow people to share admissions of selfharm and suicidal thoughts, but should not allow people to share content promoting it’. Based on their feedback, she said the site would ‘no longer allow graphic cutting images’ and would ‘begin enforcing this policy in the coming weeks’.

It comes as Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, agreed to ban all graphic content, such as self-cutting videos. It marks a major victory for the family of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who is thought to have taken her own life after viewing content on Instagram that was said to glamorise suicide.

Her father Ian Russell had said Instagram ‘helped kill’ his daughter. Instagram boss Adam Mosseri yesterday told the Daily Telegraph about the moment Mr Russell blamed the site for his daughter’s death.

‘It’s the kind of thing that hits you in the chest and sticks with you,’ he said.

Plans to make social media firms legally liable for content on their sites are set to be shelved, the Health Secretary has said.

Matt Hancock yesterday said proposals which could have seen firms facing fines for allowing vile and illegal material on their sites were too drastic.

Speaking to the Today programme, he said: ‘The whole concept [of social media] would collapse if you made them legally liable for everything on their site.’

‘No longer allow graphic images’