The UK online safety regulator has ramped up its investigation into an online suicide forum as campaigners criticise an “inexplicable decision” to not take action.
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Ofcom had in April launched a probe – its first under the Online Safety Act – into whether the unnamed forum had failed to comply with its obligations to put in place measures to protect users from illegal content and activity, among other rules. The regulator said six months later that the forum had blocked UK IP addresses but remained on its “watchlist” to ensure the block is maintained; it noted that it may reassess the prioritisation of the case depending on the outcome of its monitoring.
The UK regulator yesterday said it decided to continue its investigation “as a priority” after it learned that the site remains accessible from the UK. “We now have reason to believe, from evidence provided to us by Samaritans on 4 November 2025, that the service is available to UK users,” Ofcom said, adding that it will aim to conclude the matter as quickly as it can.
Emily Kell, online safety lead at suicide prevention charity Samaritans, said the group is “pleased” that Ofcom is continuing their investigation into the site following evidence they shared. Since yesterday’s decision it appears the site is not currently available, she said.
“[H]owever, we know more needs to be done to tackle harmful online content, particularly around small but high-risk platforms and emerging risks, such as AI,” Kell said.
Molly Rose Foundation chief executive Andy Burrows told Lexology PRO: "If this is the beginning of a U-turn, we welcome this.”
“However, there are serious questions to answer about why Ofcom has delayed taking action on multiple breaches of the law and why it takes bereaved families to have forced the regulator’s hand,” he said.
Burrow said Ofcom was made aware several weeks ago that UK users could still access the forum; “it is unclear why this information wasn’t acted on at the time.”
A group of bereaved families and a survivor of the forum had written to Ofcom head Melanie Dawes on 4 November noting that they have been left “dismayed and appalled” over Ofcom’s October decision to not proceed with further enforcement action.
They had noted that the forum continues to present an immediate risk to individuals and is still being used in the UK. The Molly Rose Foundation was contacted by several families about suspected deaths since the voluntary geoblock was introduced, the letter said, adding that Ofcom “appears to have satisfied itself with a technical remedy rather than measures that would meaningfully address the reasonably foreseeable and inherently preventable risks to life”.
The campaigners noted that the forum had previously implemented voluntary geoblocking while being probed in other jurisdictions, only to reinstate access once those investigations were closed. They called on Ofcom to urgently investigate potential breaches of the Online Safety Act and seek a ‘service disruption order’ through the UK courts.