UK fines online suicide forum linked to 130 deaths £950,000

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Jamaica Observer

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain's media regulator on Wednesday slapped the United States (US) based host of an online forum blamed for 130 deaths in the United Kingdom (UK) with a £950,000 fine (1.3 million) for content encouraging and assisting suicide.Without naming the site, Ofcom said that the regulator had concluded that the forum's provider has failed -- and continues to fail -- to comply with its duties to assess and mitigate the risk of people in the UK encountering illegal content in its service.Ofcom also ordered the platform to take action to prevent British users from accessing content promoting suicide within 10 working days, or face being blocked in the UK.After launching an investigation in April 2025, the regulator said it had found instructional 'guides' and threads detailing different methods of suicide, some of which have been present on the site for years.Many of these have been either pinned or reposted by the provider itself, demonstrating that it is aware of this content.At first, the platform argued it was not required to take action as it was based in the United States.But the regulator insisted that the UK's Online Safety Act forces it to comply with British laws prohibiting the intentional encouragement or assistance of suicide, as well as the requirement to take down harmful content.In a post on X, the Molly Rose Foundation for preventing suicide welcomed the move, but said that this should never have taken 13 months.The charity estimates that 130 people have died in the UK after following the advice found on the forum.