Blocked suicide website re-emerges under new name

Vlad Nikolin-Caisley died in May 2024 after swallowing poison that he bought online

An online pro-suicide forum that blocked UK users later became available again under a different domain name, a regulator has said.

The US-administered website agreed to impose the block on 1 July but a mirror site that could be seen in the UK was detected on Tuesday, according to media regulator Ofcom.

It said it was investigating why the controversial forum temporarily reappeared.

Graham Caisley, whose 17-year-old son Vlad used the site before his death in Hampshire in 2024, said the UK restriction was ineffective.

Graham Caisley called for punishments for those running suicide forums

He said: "Blocking the site is a bit pointless because people can get round blocks and the site will still be there.

"I think if people started getting punishments for hosting this sort of content then something would change."

Mr Caisley said his son was "encouraged" to take his own life by members on the site and swallowed poison he bought online.

The website, which the BBC and Ofcom are not naming, was reported in 2023 to be linked to at least 50 UK deaths.

Ofcom said it acted quickly after being told by the Samaritans charity that the forum was visible again under a different name.

By Friday, the site was once more inaccessible to internet users with UK IP addresses, the regulator said.

In a statement, it added: "We are concerned, however, that the forum's block of UK users was ineffective and/or was not consistently maintained and that similar issues may arise in the future."

Emily Kell, the Samaritans' Online Safety Lead, said: "We're really pleased that Ofcom have continued their investigation into this specific site, following evidence we shared with them.

"However, 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 [artificial intelligence]."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story you can find information and support on the BBC Actionline website here.