Schoolgirl, 14, took her own life after reading suicide Q&A on popular web forum Quora

A coroner has launched an attack on a social media company after a schoolgirl killed herself immediately after investigating “concerning” self-harm content on question-and-answer website Quora.

14-year-old Isabella Shere was found hanged in her family home after months of searching for information on how to end her life.

Fleur Hallett, assistant coroner for Inner South London, has called on Quora, the government and communications regulator Ofcom, to take action after it emerged that Isabella had accessed the disturbing content because there were no age restrictions.

Ms Hallett, who concluded Isabella died by suicide, said: ‘During the inquest, the evidence revealed matters of concern.

‘In my view there is a risk that deaths will occur in the future unless action is taken.

The inquest found that Isabella’s internet search history showed she had researched ending her life.

Coroner Fleur Hallett wrote to question and answer forum Quora, as well as the government and communications regulator Ofcom, after Isabella Shere had uncontrolled access to ‘concerning’ content

The coroner’s court in Inner South London, where the coroner concluded that Isabella, from nearby Lewisham, had died by suicide

And she had visited Quora – a popular social forum used by hundreds of millions of people to find questions and provide answers – just before she hanged herself on February 2, 2023.

The coroner redacted the specific web page in her report into Isabella’s death, but said the content raised concerns and was not age-restricted, meaning children could access it.

The coroner wrote: ‘Ms Shere was not known to be struggling with her mental health, but her internet search history in the last four months of her life indicated that she was seeking information about methods of ending life.

‘Miss Shere left a note saying she wanted to commit suicide.

‘During the investigation, the evidence identified matters of concern.

‘In my view there is a risk that deaths will occur in the future unless action is taken.

‘The Q&A thread viewed by Miss Shere just before her death has been viewed 169,700 times at the time of writing this report.

“The content will not be marked as adult content when opened on a phone or computer.”

The coroner said children could access the site via search engines without having to create an account and access its content without being asked if they were adults or required to enter their date of birth.

She said the website also suggested more similar content “encouraging further consumption of this material,” and allowed users to vote on whether an answer was helpful or not.

She said this could mean the user doesn’t fully appreciate “the seriousness of the subject being consumed.”

The coroner added: ‘There is insufficient monitoring and/or moderation of the content of questions/answers in accordance with Quora’s own platform policies.

“In my opinion, action must be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you and/or your organization have the power to take such action.”

Quora, the government and the broadcast regulator must all respond to the coroner’s report.

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