Facebook has been working on suicide prevention measures for years. In 2017, it rolled out its AI-based suicide prevention tools. This year, Instagram began hiding self-harm images behind 'sensitivity screens.' Instagram also prevents self-harm content from appearing in the Explore tab, and it's taken steps to prohibit content that may promote eating disorders.

As Facebook notes, one of the best ways to prevent suicide is for people to hear from friends and family who care about them. "Facebook has a unique role in facilitating those kinds of connections," the company wrote in a blog post. Unfortunately, it can also become an echo chamber of negativity, and measures like these are important to protect at-risk users.