Download document: Samaritans letter to DSIT Secretary about comments on Question Time
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Samaritans’ CEO has today written to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, to raise concerns about comments he made on a recent appearance on ‘Question Time’ about suicide forums.
During the discussion, Mr Kyle appeared to suggest that certain suicide forums had voluntarily left the UK and were no longer accessible to internet users. However, as Samaritans have pointed out, these sites are still very much active.
Whilst we welcome the recognition the Secretary of State has given to the damage these forums can do, to suggest they are not available anymore or that users are somehow safer than they were a year ago paints a false picture of the situation. There are sadly endless examples of the harmful content these sites promote, and evidence of how they impact the users that see it. The time has come for Ofcom to use it’s powers and take enforcement action. We therefore urge the Secretary of State to correct the record, reconsider his stance to not put Category 1 requirements on these forums, and put pressure on Ofcom to take swift enforcement action that will literally save lives.
Jacqui Morrissey, Assistant Director, Influencing