Fury over picture of Amelia
SOCIAL media giant Instagram was last night criticised for refusing to remove images of the body of Amelia Bambridge.
Relatives demanded a post showing a close-up of the British backpacker’s lifeless body be taken down.
Amelia’s brother Harry called it “disgusting” and “insensitive” and claimed her 11-year-old nephew had seen the image.
Her sister Georgie, 19, shared the post, writing: “Please report”.
The row broke out hours after the body of the 21-year-old, from Worthing,west Sussex, was found off the coast of Cambodia. She had been missing for eight days and is believed to have accidentally drowned off the island of Koh Rang.
In two Facebook posts, local Cambodians posted pictures which appeared to show Amelia.
One showed her floating face-up in the sea, the other in tattered clothes after being found by fishermen.
But it was a close-up of one of those images on Instagram – showing Amelia’s distinctive Highland cattle tattoo – that sparked fury among her family.
A spokesman for Facebook, which owns Instagram, defended its position, saying: “We are saddened by the news about Amelia and our thoughts go out to her family and friends.
“We do not allow graphic images when they are shared for sadistic pleasure.
“People often use Facebook and Instagram to share stories in the news and this can result in content appearing that some may find upsetting.”
The picture was posted from the account of Nicole Angemi, an Instagram influencer with 1.9 million followers who also claims to be an assistant pathologist.
Having been alerted to the family’s anger, the artist took the picture down. In August, the Government proposed Ofcom be given the power to regulate social media for harmful content.
Proposals from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport would allow the watchdog to dish out fines if it believes social media companies have failed to protect users from harmful videos.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with Amelia’s family at this extremely sad time, and we continue to do all we can to support them.”