I lost my sister to online harms, the OSA is failing vulnerable people

When my sister Aimee died, our family had never felt so alone. But sadly, we quickly realised we weren’t alone – so many others had died in a similar way.

Aimee was 21 when she took her life using a poison advertised through an online suicide forum. The best way to describe this forum is a place where vulnerable people are groomed to end their lives.

My sister even connected with a US man on there who flew to the UK to be with her when she died. The forum is not on the dark web, it is hosted openly and is widely available for people to view, to talk and get caught up in a rabbit hole of intense harm.

Since Aimee died, we’ve found out the poison she took is responsible for at least 99 deaths in the UK, with many linked to the suicide forum she used. 

The forum is currently under investigation by Ofcom, the UK online safety regulator, and has since voluntarily “removed” itself from the country. However, the site advertises a VPN for users to quickly get around this self-imposed restriction, making it all too easy for vulnerable people to access.

Some will go seeking help and support, but will quickly find sadistic users encouraging suicide, offering it as a beacon of hope and even ticking off those who have died from a checklist. The site cannot and should not exist.

In my journey, I’ve encountered countless families who have been through the same heartache, anger and frustration as mine. Why does the site exist? Why is the poison not better regulated? What are the government doing to protect vulnerable people going through a similar situation to our loved ones?

So, now we’ve come together with Molly Rose Foundation (MRF) to form Families and Survivors to Prevent Online Suicide Harms. Bereaved families and those who have used the site and survived want common goals.

We know first hand the fatal harm caused by this suicide forum which actively encourages vulnerable people to end their lives. We’ve come together to demand change and compel tech companies, regulators and governments work together to prevent further tragedies.

First, that must be legally closing the site down so it cannot be accessed from the UK. Ofcom began investigating the forum under the Online Safety Act almost four months ago and still no action has been taken.  If anything warranted a quick but robust investigation from the regulator, surely this site is it.

While we wait for action, more young lives are at risk.  Ofcom must speed up its investigation into the site and act quickly to ensure it is permanently blocked in the UK. Ofcom should answer for its slow response and dedicate resources to its investigation so it can be completed as quickly as possible. But that won’t be the end.

The regulatory framework under the Online Safety Act is working far too slowly to close this site and we are increasingly concerned it won’t prevent similar sites popping up. We cannot wait months on end to close these sites, so as part of an updated Online Safety Act, we need to see more robust measures to tackle these horrendous threats.

Sadly, even the powers within the act are not being used as intended. Parliament voted to give the regulator powers to subject these small-but-harmful sites to tougher scrutiny. However, the government and Ofcom have decided to ignore these powers despite the incredible risk these sites pose.

But stronger legislation is needed to take expedited action against the highest harm sites to stop a whack-a-mole of similar forums popping up, as well as better processes to regulate the search engines that recommend them. It is also criminal that in Whitehall, the prevention of future death reports linked to this site are stacking up, yet there is still no accountability in government to take action.

And the poison Aimee used can still be accessed from the UK and abroad. It should be better regulated to stop it falling into the hands of vulnerable people. 

As bereaved families, we stand ready to challenge government on these points and ensure what happened to our loved ones doesn’t happen to others. There are questions to be answered about the frontline response to protecting vulnerable people in these situations as well. But first and foremost we need to close this despicable site. And that requires Ofcom acting quickly and decisively to take the legal action needed to shut it down.

If you’re struggling, text MRF to 85258 to speak a trained volunteer from Shout, the UK’s Crisis Text Line service.