Self-harm / suicide content, including eating disorder content
Social media and other online spaces can provide valuable places for people to talk openly about self-harm, suicide and eating disorders, find support and share their experiences.
However, some online content can be harmful. This can include posts, images, videos or communities that encourage self-harm or suicide, promote eating disorders, share harmful instructions or make dangerous behaviours seem normal or desirable.
If you have come across this type of content online, there are steps you can take to report it and reduce the amount of similar content you see.
What is self-harm / suicide, and eating disorder content?
Not all online content about self-harm, suicide or eating disorders is harmful.
People may use online spaces to talk about their experiences, seek help, raise awareness, or support their recovery. Platforms may therefore allow some content discussing these subjects where it is considered supportive, educational or focused on recovery.
The concern is usually with content that encourages, promotes, glorifies or provides harmful information about these behaviours.
This could include:
Content encouraging or promoting self-harm or suicide
Images or videos that glorify or romanticise self-harm
Graphic images or videos showing self-inflicted injuries
Instructions or information about methods of self-harm or suicide
Content encouraging someone else to harm themselves
Communities or accounts centred around encouraging harmful behaviour
Content portraying eating disorders or extreme weight loss as desirable
"pro-ana" or "pro-mia" content promoting anorexia or bulimia
Tips or techniques for hiding an eating disorder from friends, family or professionals
Content encouraging dangerous restriction, purging or other eating disorder behaviours
The context of a post matters. A person talking openly about their own experience of an eating disorder, for example, is very different from an account actively encouraging other people to develop or continue harmful behaviours.
What does the law say about self-harm and suicide content online?
Not all content relating to self-harm or suicide is illegal. However, there are circumstances where encouraging another person to seriously harm themselves or take their own life can be a criminal offence.
The Online Safety Act 2023 strengthened the law around harmful online content and introduced a specific offence of encouraging or assisting serious self-harm. This is aimed at situations where someone intentionally encourages or assists another person to seriously harm themselves.
Encouraging or assisting suicide is also a criminal offence under existing UK law.
Importantly, the law is focused on encouraging or assisting harmful behaviour. It does not make it illegal simply for someone to discuss their own experiences of self-harm, suicidal feelings or recovery online.
What does the Online Safety Act mean for platforms?
Encouraging or assisting suicide and encouraging or assisting serious self-harm are priority offences under the Online Safety Act.
This means regulated online services have legal duties to assess the risk of this type of illegal content appearing on their services and put appropriate measures in place to prevent users encountering it.
Platforms also have their own rules around suicide, self-harm and eating disorder content. These may go further than what is considered illegal under UK law.
For example, a platform may restrict or remove content that glorifies self-harm, promotes an eating disorder or provides harmful instructions, even where that content doesn't meet the threshold for a criminal offence.
What about eating disorder content?
Content about eating disorders is not automatically illegal. There is also an important difference between content that discusses eating disorders and content that actively promotes, encourages or glorifies harmful eating disorder behaviours.
Social media platforms may have their own rules restricting eating disorder content, including content that promotes dangerous weight-loss behaviours or encourages users to continue an eating disorder.
This means harmful eating disorder content may still be reportable to the platform even when it isn't necessarily illegal.
How do I report self-harm, suicide or eating disorder content online?
If you've seen harmful self-harm, suicide or eating disorder content online, there are several things you can do.
Report the content to the platform
Most major social media platforms have specific reporting options for content involving suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. Report the individual post, video, image or account and choose the option that most closely describes the content.
Use tools to control what you see
If seeing self-harm, suicide or eating disorder content is affecting you, consider blocking or muting the account. Platforms may also allow you to hide particular words, hashtags or topics and tell their recommendation systems that you're not interested in similar content.
Try not to interact with harmful posts, even to challenge them, as engagement can sometimes result in platforms recommending more similar content.
If you're worried about someone else
If someone you know is posting about suicide or self-harm and you are concerned about their immediate safety, take the situation seriously. Some platforms provide specific tools for reporting concerns about a person's wellbeing.
Where you believe someone is in immediate danger or there is an immediate risk to life, call 999.
Already reported harmful content?
If you have reported self-harm, suicide or eating disorder content to a platform and you're unhappy with the response, we may be able to help you understand your reporting options and what you can do next.
Further support
Coming across self-harm, suicide or eating disorder content can be upsetting, particularly if it relates to something you are experiencing yourself.
If the content you've seen has affected you, support is available.