Families of victims are calling for a public inquiry into the “repeated failures” of the government and online harm regulator Ofcom to effectively combat a “nihilistic” suicide forum.
According to report Government departments were alerted a total of 65 times about the online forum by the Molly Rose Foundation (MRF), a suicide prevention charity targeting people under 25.
He added that the forum has now been linked to the deaths of at least 133 people in the UK over the past five years after they were exposed to toxic chemicals advertised on the site.
Although the forum's owners voluntarily decided to block access to the site from UK IP addresses in response to an Ofcom investigation launched in April 2025, MRF claims the regulator is “failing to take the necessary steps” to prevent the ongoing threat posed by the site.
Under Internet Safety Act – which became law in October 2023, but only came into full force on July 25, 2025 – Ofcom was able to take action from March 2025 against sites hosting illegal content, including content promoting suicide. If sites do not confirm they have systems in place to remove illegal material, Ofcom could block them or impose fines of up to £18 million.
According to Update from Ofcom 13 October 2025Although the site's landing page initially contained a message telling users how to bypass the block, it was subsequently removed following further intervention by 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 they have a safer online experience,” it said. “We are actively monitoring these restrictions to ensure they are consistently enforced and to ensure that the service refrains from promoting or encouraging UK users to circumvent them. Depending on the results of our monitoring process, we may re-prioritise this case in line with our overall approach to enforcement.”
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the MRF, said the government's failure to “protect its vulnerable citizens means the nihilistic potential of the suicide forum has cost countless lives”, adding: “It is inexplicable that Ofcom would abandon the fate of a forum that exists to train and coerce others to take their own lives. [to itself] rather than taking swift and decisive action to legally shut it down in the UK. What is needed now is nothing less than a public inquiry to learn the countless lessons and act on them to save lives.”
MRF said Ofcom should have restricted access itself rather than leaving it to the discretion of site operators. The MRF also claims that despite several government departments, including the Home Office, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, having been warned a total of 65 times by both campaigners and coroners about the risk of further deaths since 2019, no concerted action has been taken.
Instead, they accused departments of playing “pass the parcel” by voicing their concerns and stressed that there were no mechanisms in place to track whether coroners' concerns were being acted upon.
Families who have lost loved ones who are part of Families and survivors must prevent the harm caused by online suicides there now wrote to the Prime Minister calling for an investigation into why these warnings were ignored.
“We have seen government departments work ineffectively to respond to emerging suicide threats. A suicide forum has been allowed to continue to promote a harmful substance for a number of years; regulations that allow the sale of a deadly poison to vulnerable people at home and abroad; and a frontline response that has failed some of those who most need support,” they wrote. “This is despite numerous warnings from coroners, investigations by journalists and ongoing efforts by family members of the victims to shed light on this harm.”
While the government has not confirmed whether it will consider an investigation, it has said sites must prevent users from accessing illegal content about suicide and self-harm or face “tough enforcement, including significant fines.”
The government spokesman added that the substance in question “is closely monitored and reportable under the Poisons Act”, meaning retailers must tell authorities if they suspect it is being bought with intent to cause harm.
A post on the forum's home page said it was blocked in the UK not as a result of government action, but 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 signaled their intention to enforce their domestic laws on foreign platforms, which could potentially lead to criminal liability or disruption of service,” the statement said.
In a statement published in Computer Weekly, Ofcom said: “In response to our enforcement action, the online suicide forum has introduced geo-blocking to restrict access by people with UK IP addresses. Services that choose to block access by people in the UK should not encourage or promote ways to circumvent these restrictions.”
He added that the forum remains on a watch list and that a previous investigation into the site remained open while it checked whether the block remained in place.
If you are having difficulty, text MRF to 85258 so you can speak to a trained volunteer from Shout, the UK's crisis texting service.
