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Websites and online forums promoting suicide and eating disorders should fall within the scope of the federal government’s forthcoming online safety bill, argue parents and child-protection experts who say the sites target the most vulnerable.
“The other night I went on a call with two parents – just heartbreaking cases. In both cases their children had died by suicide,” Ms. McDonald said. “These platforms are actively serving up this type of harmful material. We’ve heard from families where their kids are essentially trapped by these algorithms.”
Nicole Legg, who researches eating disorders at the University of Victoria and is a counsellor for people with such disorders, said pro-ana sites can reinforce behaviours of young women who already have body image issues. Isabella – The Globe is not revealing her full name to protect her privacy – described her only son as “a poster boy for the first 20 years of his life.” He was suffering from depression during the pandemic, when he could not see his friends or play the sports he enjoyed. He visited the forum and killed himself after being encouraged and coached there to do so, she said.
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