BBC: "Ofcom unable to take further legal action against suicide forum"

[Sakura.]

"Ofcom said it is unable to take further legal action against a pro-suicide forum which campaigners say has been linked to over 130 UK deaths.

The regulator said the site had blocked access for the "vast majority" of UK users, and it had "no further legal routes available" under the Online Safety Act.
But it accepted people would still be able to access the forum by using a VPN, which hides your location online.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said the decision to take no further legal action would "result in more lost lives" and that announcing it on the day a new prime minister was named showed "an utter lack of moral courage".
In response, an Ofcom spokesperson said it had made the decision a "matter of days ago" following "months of work to exhaust all possible legal routes".
They said bereaved families were informed of the decision this morning after being contacted last week.
"In that context, we do not consider it appropriate to delay the announcement further to accommodate today's political developments," they said.
Meanwhile, Ofcom enforcement director Suzanne Cater said the regulator had used its powers "to the fullest extent possible".

"We'll continue to monitor the forum closely to check the geoblock remains in place," she said.
The geoblock means people based in the UK are unable to access the site, unless they mask their location through a VPN or similar means.
Ofcom said it was working with the government to explore whether its enforcement powers should be strengthened.
In particular, this concerns its ability to get a website blocking order through the courts, which would legally mandate internet service providers in the UK to block the website.
The regulator says it has reached the limit of what it can legally do under the Online Safety Act because the forum has implemented the geoblock.
The BBC has approached the government for comment.

'Extremely disappointed'
The forum, which the BBC has chosen not to name due to its nature, was the first service to be investigated by the regulator under the UK's online safety laws.
BBC News investigations into the forum found young people who had been on the site had been encouraged to and given instructions on how to take their own lives.
It has been cited in multiple coroners' reports regarding the deaths of UK citizens.
In May Ofcom issued a £950,000 fine to the site, saying it did not comply with the Online Safety Act "to protect people in the UK from illegal content", and warned it was preparing to seek a court order to block access if compliance issues were not addressed.
The firm had until 12 June to pay the fine. Ofcom said it has not paid.
If a company fails to pay a fine, Ofcom can still try and recover the debt through UK-based assets - if the company has any - or through a more complex process of engaging enforcement agencies in other countries if it does not.
Sarah Ruane, director of policy at suicide prevention charity Samaritans, said it was "extremely disappointed" by the announcement.
"After months of investigating this suicide forum, and over three years since the Online Safety Act was passed, we are yet to see meaningful action against some of the most harmful sites online," she said.
"All today's announcement does is raise serious questions about whether the Online Safety Act is fit for purpose.""

Ofcom unable to take further legal action against suicide forum

The regulator said it had "no further legal routes available" under the Online Safety Act.

www.bbc.com

 

[Surek]

Sarah Ruane, director of policy at suicide prevention charity Samaritans, said it was "extremely disappointed" by the announcement

Cry about it

 

[meowpuppy]

these people are so performative oh my gosh, i used to think these people actually had some modicum of knowledge wrt suicide, or, well, anything at all, because they were put into such fancy positions

what would have shown more moral courage here?? illegally shutting down the site??

 

[Fadenself00_]

Awwww, poor UK, here is an apple for you, Ofcom:

(Also, while you're at it, maybe prevent doctors from literally drugging people against their will with psych drugs, maybe approach this forum differently, actually care about understanding our situations, while respecting our autonomy. The world is gruesome and not black and white.)

 

[Aflame5926]

Ofcom maybe you should try to legalise this shit?

dont exhaused all medical treatments to be egible for it tho.
instead of denying it by full force maybe meet midway?

 

[tipoftheRGB]

Fuck these fake, performative, virtue signalling assholes.

If you care about us, come talk to us on here. Theres so many people here in need of someone to talk to but you won't meet us where we are.

Instead you say "get help" and we get help and then discover the help is inadequate. If they really cared, they'd be here every day on the Recovery section providing support and guidance for people who have none of that in their life. But on this website and on suicidewatch on reddit, so many people in desperate need of someone to talk to are ignored because no one really cares. Also ask us what we need. But you don't ask, because you don't care. Idk why I am saying "you" like any of those people are even reading this - they're not reading this because they don't care.

On a more positive note, I'm glad Andy Burnham is PM - he seems nice.

 

[Die.A.Ria]

Haha

 

[-Link-]

these people are so performative oh my gosh

"Performative" is a great word for this. The actual, meaningful answers are much more nuanced and in-depth. The answers have nothing to do with this forum and everything to do with addressing larger social, political, and cultural issues that (actively and/or passively) push people to seek out a site like this in the first place.

The answers have been written about on the forum here, by many different authors, many times over. The bottom line is that this site is a symptom of a much greater illness. You don't treat a brain tumour with Tylenol; the Tylenol means nothing. Going after this site means nothing. It does nothing. Hollow and performative.

I am delighted to see they have finally come to realize (backwards a process it may have been) that there is nothing to be done about the symptom. Ideally what comes next would be highlighting and addressing the actual issues that contribute to the existence of this community in the first place. "Ideally."

 

[ConfusedClouds]

Brace for influx of new members following this advertisement and instruction manual (do they wanna mansplain VPNs any more?)

 

[Canto XIII]

I don't get it, what forum are they talking about?

 

[purebliss]

"Ofcom said it is unable to take further legal action against a pro-suicide forum which campaigners say has been linked to over 130 UK deaths.

The regulator said the site had blocked access for the "vast majority" of UK users, and it had "no further legal routes available" under the Online Safety Act.
But it accepted people would still be able to access the forum by using a VPN, which hides your location online.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said the decision to take no further legal action would "result in more lost lives" and that announcing it on the day a new prime minister was named showed "an utter lack of moral courage".
In response, an Ofcom spokesperson said it had made the decision a "matter of days ago" following "months of work to exhaust all possible legal routes".
They said bereaved families were informed of the decision this morning after being contacted last week.
"In that context, we do not consider it appropriate to delay the announcement further to accommodate today's political developments," they said.
Meanwhile, Ofcom enforcement director Suzanne Cater said the regulator had used its powers "to the fullest extent possible".

"We'll continue to monitor the forum closely to check the geoblock remains in place," she said.
The geoblock means people based in the UK are unable to access the site, unless they mask their location through a VPN or similar means.
Ofcom said it was working with the government to explore whether its enforcement powers should be strengthened.
In particular, this concerns its ability to get a website blocking order through the courts, which would legally mandate internet service providers in the UK to block the website.
The regulator says it has reached the limit of what it can legally do under the Online Safety Act because the forum has implemented the geoblock.
The BBC has approached the government for comment.

'Extremely disappointed'
The forum, which the BBC has chosen not to name due to its nature, was the first service to be investigated by the regulator under the UK's online safety laws.
BBC News investigations into the forum found young people who had been on the site had been encouraged to and given instructions on how to take their own lives.
It has been cited in multiple coroners' reports regarding the deaths of UK citizens.
In May Ofcom issued a £950,000 fine to the site, saying it did not comply with the Online Safety Act "to protect people in the UK from illegal content", and warned it was preparing to seek a court order to block access if compliance issues were not addressed.
The firm had until 12 June to pay the fine. Ofcom said it has not paid.
If a company fails to pay a fine, Ofcom can still try and recover the debt through UK-based assets - if the company has any - or through a more complex process of engaging enforcement agencies in other countries if it does not.
Sarah Ruane, director of policy at suicide prevention charity Samaritans, said it was "extremely disappointed" by the announcement.
"After months of investigating this suicide forum, and over three years since the Online Safety Act was passed, we are yet to see meaningful action against some of the most harmful sites online," she said.
"All today's announcement does is raise serious questions about whether the Online Safety Act is fit for purpose.""

Ofcom unable to take further legal action against suicide forum

The regulator said it had "no further legal routes available" under the Online Safety Act.

www.bbc.com

Anything but making life actually viable
More slaves for the machine fellas
Breed, breed like rabbits. Shareholders require fresh meat.

We will take away every last joy in your life. Every little good feeling. Make every drug that could make your life better illegal and give you absolutely no alternative. Make housing more privatized and impossible to obtain for you. Work? Well we got some minimum wage jobs at generic burger brand here! Why don't you want to live paycheck to paycheck? Think about the shareholders!
So why do you consider suicide? We can't understand it. The fault must be on websites that give you ways to peacefully end your existence. You have to suffer before you die so you are a deterrent for others!!!

 

[HNR_]

I'll sound like a broken record but...on top of the good points Link brought up, there's still zero mention by any of the people who shout loudly about SaSu of a viable, peaceful and legal way to CTB, really goes to show how they're doing that for brownie points