U.K. investigates online suicide forum linked to dozens of deaths
London — The British government's broadcasting regulator Ofcom announced Wednesday that it is investigating an online suicide forum reportedly linked to 50 deaths in the U.K. Ofcom said it was using new powers granted under British law to look into whether the site's service provider had "failed to put appropriate safety measures in place to protect its U.K. users from illegal content and activity."
The watchdog has not named the website or its host "due to its nature," but CBS News partner network BBC News said its own investigation had revealed that the site is hosted in the U.S. and has tens of thousands of members, including children.
The BBC said the site's users discuss methods of suicide, including sharing instructions on how to buy and use a potentially deadly toxic chemical.
A British suicide prevention charity fears the site may be connected to 97 deaths in the U.K.
Ofcom's investigation is the first into an individual service provider under Britain's Online Safety Act of 2023, which aims to protect internet users, particularly children.
"We have made several attempts to engage with this service provider in respect of its duties under the act and issued a legally binding request to submit the record of its illegal harms risk assessment to us," Ofcom said in a statement. "Having received a limited response to our request, and unsatisfactory information about the steps being taken to protect U.K. users from illegal content, we have today launched an investigation into whether the provider is complying with its legal obligations under the act."
Ofcom could ultimately seek a court order to force the service provider to remove the content if it fails to comply. It could also fine the provider up to the equivalent of $23 million.
The BBC said its investigation had found at least 50 suicides in Britain connected with the forum, which it said had been set up in 2018. Vlad Nikolin-Caisley, a 17-year-old from England who died in May last year, was among those found by the BBC to have used the forum.
His parents told the BBC they had evidence that Nikolin-Caisley was encouraged to take his own life by other members on the site, as well as coached on how to do so. He eventually bought a poisonous chemical and followed instructions on how to end his life.
His parents had previously called on Ofcom to ban the site to save lives.
"At what point do we say enough is enough, because those young people did not deserve to die," his mother Anna told the BBC.
"The sooner they take action, the sooner we stop deaths linked to this forum," the teenager's father added.
The Molly Rose Foundation, named after 14-year-old Molly Russell, who ended her life in 2017 after watching suicide content on social media, said it estimated the number of deaths linked to the forum to be at least 97.
"We welcome Ofcom taking the first steps to clamp down on this horrendous site which exists only to help vulnerable people end their lives," said chief executive Andy Burrows. "Every day it remains online more vulnerable people are at risk. We cannot afford any delay in shutting a site linked to the deaths of around 100 people. Ofcom will be judged not simply by them firing the starting gun, but by whether they act quickly and decisively to get this site closed down once and for all."
U.K. government statistics released Wednesday show that 5,690 suicides were registered in England last year, slightly higher than the 5,656 in 2023.
If you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, there is help. In the U.S., call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org. In the U.K., call Samaritans at 116123.
