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MPs ask Instagram chiefs about suicide poll

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Instagram executives have said they are “heartbroken” over the reported suicide of a teenager in Malaysia who had posted a poll to its app.

The 16-year-old is thought to have killed herself hours after asking other users whether she should die.

But the technology company’s leaders said it was too soon to say if they would take any action against account holders who took part in the vote.

The Instagram chiefs were questioned about the matter in Westminster.

They were appearing as part of an inquiry by the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee into immersive and addictive technologies.

‘Very shocking’

Reports indicate the unnamed teenager killed herself on Monday, in the eastern state of Sarawak.

The local police have said that she had run a poll on the photo-centric platform asking: “Really important, help me choose D/L.” The letters D and L are said to have represented “die” and “live” respectively.

This took advantage of a feature introduced in 2017 that allows users to pose a question via a “sticker” placed over one of their photos, with viewers asked to tap on one of two possible responses. The app then tallies the votes.

At one point, more than two-thirds of respondents had been in favour of the 16-year-old dying, said district police chief Aidil Bolhassan.

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