Bereaved families call for public inquiry over suicide forum

Bereaved families are calling for a public inquiry over “repeated failures” by the government and online harms regulator Ofcom to effectively deal with a “nihilistic” suicide forum.

According to a report by the Molly Rose Foundation (MRF), a suicide prevention charity targeted to people under the age of 25, government departments were warned a total of 65 times about the online forum.

It added that, so far, the forum has been linked to the deaths of at least 133 people in the UK over the past five years, after they obtained toxic chemicals promoted by the site.

While the forum owners voluntarily moved to block UK IP addressed from accessing the site in response to an Ofcom investigation launched in April 2025, the MRF claims the regulator is “failing to take the necessary steps” to prevent the ongoing threat posed by the site.

Under the Online Safety Act – which became law in October 2023 but only went into full effect on 25 July 2025 – Ofcom was able from March 2025 to take action against sites hosting illegal content, which includes content promoting suicide. If sites fail to show they have systems in place to remove illegal material, Ofcom can block them or impose fines of up to £18m.

According to a 13 October 2025 update from Ofcom, while the site initially contained messaging on its landing page telling users how to circumvent the block, this was subsequently removed following further engagement from the regulator.

“These restrictions have reduced the likelihood that people in the UK will be exposed to illegal or harmful content that may be present on the service, meaning safer online experiences for them,” it said. “We are actively monitoring these restrictions to check they are maintained consistently and to make sure that the service refrains from promoting or encouraging ways for UK users to avoid them. Depending on the outcome of our monitoring process, we may re-assess prioritisation of this case in line with our general approach to enforcement.”

Andy Burrows, chief executive of the MRF, said the state’s failure “to protect its vulnerable citizens means that the nihilistic potential of a suicide forum has cost countless lives”, adding: “It is inexplicable that Ofcom has left the fate of a forum that exists to groom and coerce others to end their lives [to itself] rather than take swift and decisive action to legally shut it down in the UK. Nothing less than a public inquiry is now needed to learn the countless lessons and act on them to save lives.”

The MRF said that Ofcom should have moved to restrict access itself, rather than leaving it to the site operators. The MRF also claims that despite multiple government departments – including the Home Office, Department for Health and Social Care, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – being warned a combined total of 65 times by both campaigners and coroners about the risk of further deaths since 2019, no concerted action was taken.

Instead, they accused the departments of playing “pass the parcel” with their concerns, and highlighted how there are no mechanisms in place to track whether action is taken in response to coroners’ concerns.

Bereaved families who are part of Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harms have now written to the prime minister calling for an inquiry into why these warnings have been ignored.  

“We have seen government departments work ineffectively to respond to emerging suicide threats. A suicide forum being allowed to continue to promote a harmful substance over a number of years; regulation that allows for the sale of a lethal poison to vulnerable people domestically and from overseas; and frontline responses that have let down some of those most in need of support,” they wrote. “This is despite the numerous warnings from coroners, investigations by journalists and the sustained efforts of bereaved family members to shine a spotlight on these harms.”

While the government has not confirmed whether it will consider an inquiry, it said sites must prevent users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content or face “robust enforcement, including substantial fines”.

A government spokesperson added that the substance in question “is closely monitored and is reportable under the Poisons Act”, meaning retailers should tell the authorities if they suspect it is being bought to cause harm.

A message on the forum’s homepage says it was not blocked in the UK as a result of government action, but instead because of a “proactive” decision to “protect the platform and its users”.

“We operate under the protection of the First Amendment. However, UK authorities have signalled intentions to enforce their domestic laws on foreign platforms, potentially leading to criminal liability or service disruption,” it said.

In a statement given to Computer Weekly, Ofcom said: “In response to our enforcement action, the online suicide forum put in place a geo-block to restrict access by people with UK IP addresses. Services that choose to block access by people in the UK must not encourage or promote ways to avoid these restrictions.”

It added that the forum remained on its watchlist and that its previous investigation into the site remained open while it checked the block was being maintained.

If you’re struggling, text MRF to 85258 so you can speak to a trained volunteer from Shout, the UK’s Crisis Text Line service.