A woman has been arrested on suspicion of encouraging or assisting the suicide of a 17-year-old boy who had joined an online suicide forum.
Vlad Nikolin-Caisley, from Southampton, Hampshire, died in May 2024 after becoming a user of the website which, according to a BBC report, is the first to be investigated by Ofcom under the Online Safety Act.
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman confirmed that a 29-year-old woman from Merton, London, had been arrested in connection with the teenager’s death.
He said: “As part of our investigation into the death of a teenage boy in Southampton we have arrested a 29-year-old woman from Merton, London, on suspicion of intentionally doing an act capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide of another. She has been bailed while our inquiries continue.”
Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must comply with a range of new codes of practice, which set out how sites must protect users, and in particular children, from encountering harmful content.
They must now show that they have systems and processes in place within their site design, terms of service and moderation teams, that will help protect users from harmful content.
The first set of these codes, which focused on stopping the spread of illegal content – including that which promotes suicide and self-harm – came into force last month.
Sites found to be in breach of the new rules, which will continue to steadily come into force in the coming months, face large fines, or in the most serious cases, Ofcom can request access to a site be blocked.
Ofcom can impose fines of up to £18 million or 10% of worldwide revenue if it finds compliance failures.
According to the BBC, the forum – which is not being named due to the nature of its content – has been linked to at least 50 deaths in the UK, while one charity said it understood the National Crime Agency (NCA) has linked the site to as many as 97 deaths in the UK.
It is reported to have tens of thousands of members who discuss methods of suicide and share information.
In a statement released last month after the launch of the investigation into the website, an Ofcom spokesman said: “We’ve been clear that failure to comply with the new online safety duties or adequately respond to our information requests may result in enforcement action, and that we would not hesitate to take swift action where we suspect there may be serious breaches.
“Having received a limited response to our request, and unsatisfactory information about the steps being taken to protect UK users from illegal content, we have today launched an investigation into whether the provider is complying with its legal obligations under the Act.”
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