The Corporate Conscience: How Molly Russell's Case Reshaped Pinterest's Platform Safety Policies
The current Pinterest CEO, Bill Ready, has publicly stated that he thinks about Molly Russell every day. Addressing the tragic case for the first time since taking the top leadership role, Ready explained that the 14 year old British girl’s death is a matter that "guides" the company's decision making and its ongoing commitment to platform safety. This high profile acknowledgment highlights the profound and lasting impact the case has had on Pinterest and the wider social media industry.
Molly Russell took her own life in November 2017 after viewing an extensive volume of content online, including posts on Pinterest and Instagram, related to depression, self harm, and suicide. An inquest in 2022 concluded that the "negative effects of online content" contributed to her death in a "more than minimal way." The court heard that in the six months prior to her death, Molly had engaged with over 16,000 pieces of content on Instagram, with 2,100 related to self harm. On Pinterest, she had engaged with over 15,000 pins, and the platform had even sent her emails with subject lines like "10 depression pins you might like."
The tragedy of Molly Russell forced Pinterest to publicly apologize and confront the issue of harmful content on its platform. A senior Pinterest executive, Jud Hoffman, admitted during the inquest that the site was "not safe" when Molly used it and apologized that she was able to access the material. Following the inquest, Pinterest committed to significant changes, including strengthening its policies around self harm content, providing routes to compassionate support for those in need, and investing heavily in new technologies to automatically identify and remove such material. The company has since worked to remove search terms that lead to harmful content and to better protect its younger users.
Molly Russell's father, Ian Russell, transformed his personal tragedy into a tireless campaign for better internet safety and corporate accountability. His advocacy and the findings of the inquest have been a major catalyst for legislative action globally, particularly the UK’s Online Safety Act, which is designed to hold social media platforms legally accountable for the harmful content hosted on their sites. The CEO’s continued reflection on Molly's story underscores the industry shift toward prioritizing user safety and mental health, with the hope that her death will ultimately lead to a safer online environment for all children.