Parents told to supervise social media use as graphic video circulates
Australian parents have been advised to supervise their children's social media use as a graphic suicide video from the United States is being shared widely online.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she was aware of "distressing reports" about the video circulating social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Principals across multiple NSW and Victorian schools sent emails to parents on Tuesday suggesting they monitor their children's social media use or keep students offline for a few days until websites removed the content.
A video is spreading on social media showing a suicide.Credit:iStockphoto
One school has prohibited students' access to computers or phones for the rest of the day, while others warned the video was being shared with seemingly innocent images of puppies and kittens to lure children to watch it.
Ms Inman Grant said drawing young people's attention to the issue, if they had not seen the video, could cause unnecessary worry or distress and increase exposure.
"We advise parents, carers and educators to keep an eye on those who are more vulnerable and at-risk, and checking in with them about their interactions on and offline," she said.
The Facebook page for eSafety provider Safe on Social warned the video, of a suicide by shotgun livestreamed on Facebook, was "extremely graphic and yet to be moderated".
"Should this image appear in any of your feeds scroll past. Please advise all older students to do the same. We strongly recommend keeping your children offline today if possible, and heavily supervise all social media interactions until this content is removed," it said.
The University of NSW shared the advice, asking that students "please take care to avoid extremely graphic content currently circulating on TikTok and other social media platforms".
Ms Inman Grant said social media companies needed to use their tools to detect and remove such content "much more quickly".
"This is another example of the viral nature of the internet and the damaging effects content like this can have on those who view this harmful material – as well as for the family of the person in the video," she said.
"We have been in contact with the major social media companies about the reports and will continue working with them to monitor the situation.
"We are encouraging people who encounter this content to report it immediately to the social media platform they’ve seen it on, or to eSafety.
A TikTok spokeswoman said the app's systems had been automatically detecting and flagging these clips for violating its policies.
"We are banning accounts that repeatedly try to upload clips, and we appreciate our community members who've reported content and warned others against watching, engaging, or sharing such videos on any platform out of respect for the person and their family," she said.
"If anyone in our community is struggling with thoughts of suicide or concerned about someone who is, we encourage them to seek support, and we provide access to hotlines directly from our app and in our Safety Centre."
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800; Lifeline 13 11 14; Beyondblue 1300 22 4636