Two major British operators have blocked millions of their customers from accessing a discussion board called a “suicide forum”. According to the BBC, the authorities have been slow to intervene.
The British telecommunications operators Sky Broadband and Talktalk have blocked a total of approximately 10 million of their broadband customers from accessing a pro-suicide discussion forum.
British Broadcasting Corporation A report by the BBC according to the forum, it has already been linked to fifty deaths. The forum has more than 40,000 registered users who have written a total of more than two million messages on the forum.
Last week The BBC criticized the country’s authorities for being slow to intervene in the forum’s activities.
The operators took measures after the media attention received by the column and after contacting the relatives.
Not a new concern
The BBC says that the authorities were warned about the forum for the first time already in 2019.
It is known to at least six coroners who have demanded the authorities to close the forum. In addition, at least five police departments have tried to intervene in the forum without success.
Intervening in the forum’s activities has been made difficult by the fact that it is maintained anonymously, and the authorities have no information about the identities of the people behind it.
The BBC traced one of the forum’s alleged founders and administrators to the United States. He refused to answer the BBC reporter’s questions and has previously denied that he is any longer involved in the forum.
The youngest users are children
The forum has both encouraged and shared direct instructions for committing suicide. Some of the interlocutors are believed to be minors – even children.
In one case linked to the forum, a man in his twenties who committed suicide had left behind a message in which he hoped the forum would be closed.
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