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UK regulator fines suicide forum over $1 million, warns of UK block
The watchdog said the site hosted instructional guides and threads on suicide methods, and the provider has 10 days to comply.
- On Wednesday, Britain's communications regulator Ofcom fined the provider of an online suicide forum £950,000, the largest penalty under the country's online safety laws for hosting illegal content accessible within the UK.
- The service has been linked to more than 130 deaths in Britain and cited in several coroners' reports, with site content including instructional guides detailing suicide methods that were pinned or reposted by the platform itself.
- Ofcom's investigation, conducted between March 2025 and April 2026, found the provider failed to consistently restrict UK access. Ofcom Director of Enforcement Suzanne Cater said changes were "not good enough and the changes they've made were not consistently applied or effective to reduce the risk of harm."
- Bereaved families and the Molly Rose Foundation criticized Ofcom for a slow response, with Chief Executive Andy Burrows stating it was "appalling that it has been left to bereaved families and campaign groups to press Ofcom into action."
- The provider has 10 working days to comply with Ofcom's requirements, and the regulator is preparing to seek a court order requiring internet service providers to block the forum entirely if breaches continue.
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The Sanctioned Suicide online forum, which has been linked to hundreds of deaths in the UK, has been fined £950,000 by the UK’s Ofcom regulator in the latest attempt to shut it down. The US-based website has remained accessible in Britain for more than a year, despite the harm it causes.
British digital regulator accuses website of "sharing illegal content that encourages and helps suicide." Forum was cited in several reports by medical examiners about citizens' deaths.
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Total News Sources15
Leaning Left4Leaning Right3Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Left
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Left
40% Left
L 40%
C 30%
R 30%
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