Google has denied breaching the Online Safety Act by promoting a \u201cnihilistic\u201d suicide forum associated with 164 deaths in the UK where it is supposed to be banned.<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s internet regulator fined the forum\u2019s US-based operator \u00a3950,000 because the site, which \u201cpresents a material risk of significant harm\u201d, can still be accessed in the UK despite British laws criminalising encouraging or assisting suicide.<\/p>\n
However, a link to the website still appears in Google\u2019s search results allowing users with basic software to circumvent the block and access screeds of advice on suicide methods.<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s promotion of the site, not named by the Guardian, was raised by the Molly Rose Foundation, an online safety campaign, whose chief executive, Andy Burrows, told Radio 4\u2019s Today programme: \u201cIf you search for it by name it will still come up in search results \u2013 a clear-cut breach of the act, but on that matter Ofcom has so far declined to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s operators say access has been \u201cvoluntarily restricted to users in the United Kingdom due to legal risks associated with the UK Online Safety Act 2023\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, it includes the website\u2019s address which can then be used to access the full site using VPN software that simulates a computer being based in a different country.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Molly Rose Foundation, set up in the memory of Molly Russell, a 14-year-old who took her own life<\/a> after viewing negative online content, including about suicide, cited a section of the 2023 Online Safety Act<\/a> that states search services must \u201ctake or use proportionate measures relating to the design or operation of the service to effectively mitigate and manage the risks of harm to individuals\u201d.<\/p>\n Google denied it had breached the law. Ofcom regulations allow search engines to respond to \u201cnavigational\u201d queries, it said, adding that its results prioritise user safety by including a prominent help box with support resources, such as the Samaritans, alongside contextual news coverage. It said it aimed to balance robust safety protections with the principle of ensuring information access and would implement any formal court orders to restrict access to specific sites.<\/p>\n