AI Safety · BBC Technology
Ofcom unable to take further legal action against suicide forum
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◎ Multiple-sources
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.
Key facts
- 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 geoblock means people based in the UK are unable to access the site, unless they mask their location through a VPN or similar means
- 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
- Meanwhile, Ofcom enforcement director Suzanne Cater said the regulator had used its powers "to the fullest extent possible
Summary
The regulator said, external 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".