- Despite forum making changes to block UK users, it is still accessible in the UK without using a VPN
- Forum’s provider now has two weeks to come into compliance
- Ofcom preparing application for court order to block forum in UK if concerns not addressed
Warning: contains descriptions of harmful content
Ofcom has today fined the provider of an online suicide forum £950,000 for not complying with duties under the Online Safety Act to protect people in the UK from illegal content.
Due to its nature, we have decided not to name the forum or its provider.
Forum linked with over 130 UK deaths
The forum – reportedly linked with over 130 deaths in the UK[1] – was the first service to be investigated by Ofcom under the UK’s online safety laws last year. It has been cited in multiple coroners’ reports regarding the deaths of UK citizens.
We have engaged with individuals and their families who have personal knowledge of the forum, who have shared with us their experiences and insights. We thank them for giving their time and sharing their views on this incredibly sensitive topic.
While the forum has been the subject of scrutiny by lawmakers and prosecutors in other countries, including the US,[2] Ofcom is one of the only enforcement agencies in the world to date to take formal action against it.
The fact that the provider is based outside the UK does not mean the forum is outside the scope of the Act. It is capable of being used by people in the UK, including without a VPN, and presents a material risk of significant harm. The Act is clear that this means it must comply with our online safety laws. Similarly, a company must comply with the UK’s data protection laws if it provides a service to people in this country.
Provider aware of content encouraging and assisting suicide
It is a criminal offence in the UK to intentionally encourage or assist suicide. Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, providers of ‘user-to-user’ services are required to assess and mitigate the risk of UK users encountering this type of content on their platforms. This includes swiftly taking down illegal content when they become aware of it.[3]
Content posted with the intent to assist suicide that contains specific, practical or instructional information on suicide methods – such as details on the most effective way of taking one’s own life – is likely to constitute assistance.
Encouragement with intent could involve someone posting about taking their own life and another user responding with words to the effect of ‘you should do it’ or that they hope the person ‘succeeds’ in taking their own life.
We have carried out our own assessments of the forum between March 2025 and April 2026, and considered evidence from the Mental Health Foundation, Molly Rose Foundation and Samaritans.
Based on the evidence, we have found that illegal suicide content is present on the forum and has been consistently during our investigation. This includes 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.
Serious and deliberate contraventions
Today’s fine follows a thorough investigation by Ofcom, in its role as the UK’s independent online safety watchdog, under the process required by law. We have assessed extensive evidence and considered representations by the forum’s provider, as well as assessing the impact of multiple changes they have made to the service in response to our investigation.
We have 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.[4]
Accordingly, we have imposed a financial penalty of £950,000 on the forum’s provider. [5] This reflects the serious and deliberate nature of the contraventions, and the risk of fatal harm to people in the UK posed by the content present on the service. We have also taken into account that the forum’s provider has made several changes to their service in apparent attempts to restrict access to people in the UK.[6]
The provider now has 10 working days to take specific steps to come into compliance. We are preparing an application for a court order requiring internet service providers to block UK access to the site if our concerns are not fully addressed and there continues to be an ongoing breach.[7]
This is the full extent of the powers available to Ofcom under the Online Safety Act in this case.[8]
Suzanne Cater, Director of Enforcement at Ofcom, said: “This is a significant fine on a suicide forum known for exploiting the most vulnerable in society. It’s caused unimaginable pain and suffering for bereaved families across the UK and beyond, and no punishment can undo that harm.
“The provider of this forum knows it’s used to share illegal content encouraging and assisting suicide on their site. While they’ve responded to our enforcement action by making some changes to the accessibility of their service in the UK, this is not good enough and the changes they’ve made were not consistently applied or effective to reduce the risk of harm. Given the ongoing risk of harm, we are using all powers available to us to protect the public.”
Key developments during our investigation
During our investigation, we engaged extensively with the provider of the forum. Having repeatedly claimed they are not subject to UK regulations given they are based in the US, on 1 July 2025, in response to our enforcement proceedings, the forum implemented a ‘geoblock’ to restrict access by people with UK IP addresses on two different URLs that mirrored each other. Following further Ofcom engagement with the forum, it removed messaging from the landing page for UK users that promoted ways to circumvent the block.
Our investigation remained open while we checked that the block was maintained and that the forum did not encourage or direct UK users to get around it.
On 4 November 2025, Samaritans passed on evidence that a third ‘mirror site’ under a different domain name was directly accessible to people in the UK without needing to circumvent the block.
Shortly after we engaged with the provider about this third mirror site, it was taken offline completely and remains offline. However, we moved forward with our investigation as a priority due to concerns that the forum’s access restrictions were not effective and/or not consistently maintained.
On 27 February 2026, we issued our provisional decision in relation to breaches of the Online Safety Act, giving the provider an opportunity to make representations, as required by the Act.
Next steps
Our investigation remains open, as the provider now has 10 working days to take specific steps to come into compliance. We will provide a further update, and publish the full version of today’s decision, in due course.
Notes to editors
- Molly Rose Foundation
- E&C Leaders Request Briefings Following Alarming Reports of a Website Encouraging Suicide
- User-to-user services are where people may encounter content – including images, videos, messages or comments – that has been generated, uploaded or shared by other users.
- Specifically, we have found that it has failed to:
- conduct a suitable and sufficient illegal content risk assessment;
- use proportionate measures to prevent individuals encountering priority illegal content;
- use proportionate systems and processes to minimise the length of time priority illegal content is present;
- swiftly take down illegal content when it becomes aware of it;
- specify in its terms of service how individuals are to be protected from illegal content; and
- operate content reporting and complaints procedures in relation to illegal content.
- The Online Safety Act states that we must allow firms a reasonable amount of time to pay a fine, and we must pass all fines on to HM Treasury. If a company fails to pay a fine, we can seek recovery of that debt – including through the courts.
- In line with our Penalty Guidelines, we have ensured the overall amount of the penalty is appropriate and proportionate to the contraventions, taking into account the size of the provider.
- Neither Ofcom nor the UK courts have the power to ‘close down’ a website globally. In the most serious cases of ongoing non-compliance, where appropriate and proportionate we can make an application to a court for ‘business disruption measures’, through which a court could require third parties to take action to disrupt the business of the provider. This could require payment providers or advertisers to withdraw their services from a platform, or require internet service providers to block access to a site in the UK.
- While we have other enforcement powers – for example, in a narrow set of circumstances failure to comply with obligations in the Act can give rise to criminal liability – we cannot use all of them at the same time. The Act states that criminal proceedings may not be brought if a financial penalty has already been imposed or if a business disruption order has been granted. Given we have imposed a financial penalty in this case, we cannot pursue criminal proceedings.
If you are struggling to cope, please call Samaritans for free on 116 123 (UK and the Republic of Ireland) or contact other sources of support, such as those listed on the NHS help for suicidal thoughts web page. Support is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, providing a safe place for you, whoever you are and however you are feeling.