Prince William says the safety of children online must be a "prerequisite, not an afterthought" after a British coroner concluded that social media played a role in the suicide of a London teenager.
Fourteen-year-old Molly Russell was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017 after battling depression and viewing self-harm-related content on Instagram.
At the time, Russell's death prompted calls for new protections for children online. In a tweet today, Prince William said more needed to be done to help protect young people.
"Online safety for our children and young people needs to be a prerequisite, not an afterthought," Prince William said.
"No parent should ever have to endure what Ian Russell and his family have been through. They have been so incredibly brave."
The 14-year-old's father, Ian Russell, called for more to be done to protect children online. An inquest on the teenager's death concluded on Friday (London time) and found that online posts were likely a factor in the teenager's suicide.
"It's time to protect our innocent young people, instead of allowing platforms to prioritise their profits by monetising their misery," her father said.
North London senior coroner Andrew Walker said the posts "shouldn't have been available for a child to see".
"She died from an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content," he said.
"Molly subscribed to a number of online sites. She had access to images, video clips and text concerned with self-harm and suicide, or that were otherwise negative or depressing in nature."
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