Suicide attempt social media sites did not take down video

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An autistic teenager tried to take his own life after a video of him spread online and social media platforms refused to take it down, a former victims’ commissioner has said.

Baroness Newlove told peers in Westminster how the youngster was filmed by a member of the public “when dysregulated and engaging in aggressive behaviour” in a fast food restaurant, and how the video was shared thousands of times on various social media sites.

The Tory peer explained how the video was reported by the boy and his mother, but the sites would not take it down, and the teen “became overwhelmed” by the negative comments, eventually trying to end his own life.

The Tory peer explained how the video was reported by the boy and his mother, but the sites would not take it down, and the teen “became overwhelmed” by the negative comments, eventually trying to end his own life.

“The family, quite rightly, felt powerless, Harry became overwhelmed at the negative response to the footage and the comments made about his behaviour.

“Harry became withdrawn and stopped engaging. He then tried to take his own life.

“It was at this point that Harry’s mum reached out to the voluntary-run service Report Harmful Content as she had nowhere else to turn to. Report Harmful Content is run by the charity South West Grid for Learning.

“They were able to mediate between the social media sites involved to further explain the context and demonstrate the real-world harm that this footage, by remaining online, was having on the family and Harry’s mental health.

“Then, and only then, did the social media companies concerned remove the content.”

Lady Newlove gave the troubling account as peers continued their line-by-line scrutiny of the Online Safety Bill.