Meta alerts help Uttarakhand cops save over a dozen people from ending their lives since 2022
The Uttarakhand Police managed to save a 30-year-old Haridwar man from dying by suicide because a technological intervention by US-based Meta, which owns Facebook and WhatsApp as well, alerted them when the man put out a post on Instagram announcing his decision to take his life. This is one of many such stories that have lately emerged from the Himalayan state.
The Uttarakhand police tied up with Meta in August 2022 for timely alerts whenever the tech giant tracks a post related to suicide on Facebook or Instagram. With Meta's help, the Uttarakhand police has so far foiled over a dozen suicide attempts in various districts, including Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun.
Deputy superintendent of police (cyber crime cell), Ankush Mishra, who is the nodal officer of the project in Uttarakhand, said, 'On June 19, Meta informed us via an urgent call and an email that a person from Haridwar had posted on Instagram indicating his intent to die by suicide. Two officials on duty at the cyber crime police station in Dehradun — sub inspector Mukesh Chand and constable Nitin Ramola — shared the details with the Haridwar district control room, Haridwar Kotwali Nagar and senior police officials of the district. Upon receiving the information, a team from Haridwar police promptly reached his house and counselled him from taking the step.'
'Upon questioning, the person revealed that he was severely distressed due to family issues, which led him to post about ending his life on Instagram,' the police said.
'If someone posts about suicide (using keywords like poison, hanging, suicide) on Facebook, Instagram or any other platform owned by Meta, the company's algorithm picks these keywords and immediately sends an alert to the nodal officers of states,' Mishra said.
The DSP further said, 'Sometimes, I receive calls from Meta officials at odd hours like 2-3am due to different time zones in the US and India. I have now set a different ringtone for international calls so that I immediately know that it's urgent. They ask us to check the email, which contains complete details of such posts and the social media user. We then coordinate with the district control room and share with them the person's name, location, and sometimes even photos. The cops from the local police station then reach the location and counsel the person along with the family members.'
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