Father of teen whose death was linked to social media has ‘lost faith’ in Ofcom

Sat, 15 Nov 2025

Ian Russell says watchdog lacks ‘urgency’ and is not willing to use its powers ‘to the extent required’

The father of Molly Russell, a British teenager who killed herself after viewing harmful online content, has called for a change in leadership at the UK’s communications watchdog after losing faith in its ability to make the internet safer for children.

Ian Russell, whose 14 year-old daughter took her own life in 2017, said Ofcom had “repeatedly” demonstrated that it does not grasp the urgency of keeping under-18s safe online and was failing to implement new digital laws forcefully.