Google denies breaching law by promoting suicide forum linked to 164 UK deaths

"The UK's internet regulator fined the forum's US-based operator 950,000 because the site, which presents a material risk of significant harm, can still be accessed in the UK despite British laws criminalising encouraging or assisting suicide. However, a link to the website still appears in Google's search results allowing users with basic software to circumvent the block and access screeds of advice on suicide methods."

"If you search for it by name it will still come up in search results a clear cut breach of the act, but on that matter Ofcom has so far declined to take action. The site listed by Google was the second entry beneath a link to the Samaritans."

"The associated url links to a page where the forum's operators say access has been voluntarily restricted to users in the United Kingdom due to legal risks associated with the UK Online Safety Act 2023. However it includes the website's address which can then be used to access the full site using VPN software that simulates a computer being based in a different country."

"When set to simulate internet access from the US, Germany and France, the full forum was easily accessible, including detailed advice on the efficacy of various methods of suicide. The Molly Rose Foundation, set up in the memory of Molly Russell, a 14-year-old who took her own life after viewing negative online content, including about suicide, cited a section of the 2023 Online Safety Act that states search services must take or use proportionate measures relating to the design or operation of the service to effectively mitigate and manage the risks of harm to individuals."

A UK internet regulator fined a US-based operator of a suicide forum £950,000 for presenting a material risk of significant harm and remaining accessible in the UK despite laws criminalising encouraging or assisting suicide. A link to the forum still appeared in Google search results, enabling users to bypass blocks with basic software. The Molly Rose Foundation raised the issue, stating that searching for the forum by name still returns results and that Ofcom had not taken action. The forum’s operators claimed access was voluntarily restricted in the UK due to legal risks, but the page still included the site address. Using VPN software to simulate access from other countries made the full forum accessible, including detailed advice on suicide methods. Google denied breaching the act and cited requirements for proportionate risk mitigation under the Online Safety Act 2023.

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