Suicide Prevention Technologies and Social Media Platforms: Legal, Social and Ethical Implications

Throughout the past decade, online social networking has caused profound changes in the way people communicate and interact. Personal and ubiquitous sensing technologies such as smartphones have allowed for the continuous collection of data unobtrusively. Machine learning methods have been applied to continuously assess data, including predicting user information based on indicators such as location, mood, or physical activity. Recently, there has been a growing interest in leveraging ubiquitous sensing technologies for mental health applications which would allow for the automatic and continuous monitoring of different mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, and stress. The global impact of the coronavirus pandemic has raised two important topics, among many others: the role of social media in society and the importance of mental health. This paper will research and analyze the legal and ethical implications of technology-based suicide ideation detection mechanisms that are used by social media platforms. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for teenagers and young adults both in Israel and across the globe (after car accidents). The main concept that guides and motivates this research is the critical piece of information that suicide is preventable, which highlights the importance of suicide prevention programs.