US-based internet suicide forum implicated in 160 UK deaths fined £950,000 | Ofcom
A nihilistic online suicide forum implicated in more than 160 deaths in the UK has been shut down and fined £950,000 by the online regulator in its latest attempt.
Ofcom said the US-based website was accessible in the UK despite warnings for more than a year. Online safety campaigners accused the regulator of giving an “interminable” amount of time to take action.
Good Samaritans, mental health campaigners and the Molly Rose Foundation have repeatedly raised concerns about the site, which remains accessible despite being featured in numerous coroner reports into the deaths of UK citizens.
The Molly Rose Foundation was established in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life after entering a vortex of negative online content, including suicide. Andy Burrows, the company’s chief executive, welcomed the penalty and a separate move that could block UK internet access to the site, but said it was “appalling that it has been left to bereaved families and campaign groups to pressure Ofcom to take action”.
Ofcom has been trying since last spring to ensure the site complies with British law, which makes it an offense to deliberately encourage or assist suicide. There has been some success, with the site being blocked last July and then shutting down a mirror site in November. But it is now taking action because the site “can be used by people in the UK without a VPN and poses a risk of serious harm”.
The fine is being imposed under the Online Safety Act, which also allows Ofcom to apply to the court for an order requiring internet service providers to block UK access to the site. The regulator is preparing an application to effectively disconnect the site “if our concerns are not fully addressed and the infringement continues”.
It accused the provider of “serious and deliberate infringements” and said the fine reflected “the risk that content available on the service poses fatal harm to people in the UK”.
The forum was unavailable Wednesday, but the forum’s operator posted a page that said it defended “the right to lawful access to information without undue government interference” and quoted Mark Twain: “Censorship is telling a man he can’t eat a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.”
Molly Rose Foundation and Partners with Families and Survivors to Prevent the Harm of Online Suicide He said coroners had warned the UK government 65 times about a substance that the forum carries a greater risk of death and encourages, glorifies and instructs to use as a method of suicide.
Adele Zeynap Walton, sister of Aimee Walton, who committed suicide after entering suicide forums, said it was painful to wait for action. “While we waited, more lives were lost and we had to fight every step of the way,” she said, speaking on behalf of Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harm. “We are disappointed with the process and Ofcom’s slow response to this threat to life.”
Burrows said: “The Molly Rose Foundation has presented detailed evidence showing that many vulnerable young people remain at risk while Ofcom’s investigation continues… There are real questions as to why it has taken so long for the regulator to take action against a forum linked to at least 164 deaths in the UK.”
Ofcom said it “communicated extensively” with the forum provider and last summer geo-blocked the forum’s UK mirror sites and later removed information on a landing page promoting ways to bypass the block.
“We share the urgency around the extreme harm that sites like this can cause and understand the anger felt towards them by those personally affected,” a spokesman said. “It is vital that we ensure our enforcement action is thorough and, as with any enforcement agency, this can take time.”
“Lucas is 16, Vlad is 17, Aimee is 21, Grace, Hannah and Tom are 22, Immy is 25, Adam is 28 and Claire is 41,” the campaign groups said. In a report last year. “They were drawn into a dark world where they were allowed to exist online and maintained their existence through the use of VPNs. We believe our loved ones were subjected to coercion, grooming, and instructions on how to end their lives. Many had access to a poison that was allowed to cross borders or was readily available domestically.”
Ofcom’s executive director, Suzanne Cater, said the forum had caused “unimaginable pain and suffering and no amount of punishment can undo that harm”.
“The provider of this forum is aware that their site is being used to share illegal content that promotes and assists with suicide,” he said. “Whilst they have responded to our enforcement action by making some changes to the availability of their services in the UK, this is not good enough and the changes they have made have not been consistently implemented or effective in reducing the risk of harm. Given the ongoing risk of harm, we are using all the powers available to us to protect the public.”
