Ofcom said it cannot take further legal action against a pro-suicide forum after the site blocked access for the vast majority of UK users. The regulator said its remaining powers under the Online Safety Act have been exhausted, even though people in the UK can still reach the forum by using a VPN.
Andy Burrows, the chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said the decision would "result in more lost lives". He also said announcing it on the day a new prime minister was named showed "an utter lack of moral courage".
Ofcom and the Online Safety Act
Suzanne Cater, Ofcom's enforcement director, said the regulator had used its powers "to the fullest extent possible". Ofcom said it decided a matter of days ago, after months of work to exhaust all possible legal routes, that it had no further legal routes available under the Online Safety Act.
That leaves the regulator in a narrow position: the site has geoblocked most UK users, but Ofcom still says a VPN can bypass that restriction. The forum was the first service investigated by Ofcom under the UK's online safety laws, and campaigners say it has been linked to over 130 UK deaths.
May fine and court route
In May Ofcom issued a £950,000 fine to the site and warned it was preparing to seek a court order to block access if compliance issues were not addressed. It is now working with the government to explore whether its enforcement powers should be strengthened, including its ability to get a website blocking order through the courts. That would be the route needed if the regulator is to seek a stronger block than the forum's own geoblocking.
Bereaved families were contacted last week and informed on the morning of the announcement. For people in the UK who still want to avoid the forum, the practical step is to keep it out of reach with their own device and account settings, because Ofcom's action has not removed VPN access.
Cristina Nicolotti Squires pushes Ofcom probe into Married At First Sight UK and Virgin Media fined £28m by Ofcom over cancellation delays show how the regulator is still using its powers in other cases, even as this forum decision exposes where those powers stop. The open question now is whether government support for stronger enforcement arrives in time to change that limit.
