Written question asked by Nickie Aiken (Conservative) on Friday, 17 May 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 21 May 2024. It was answered by Maria Caulfield (Conservative) on Thursday, 23 May 2024 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Social Media: Suicide

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of deaths linked to suicide forums since 2019.

Answer: No such estimate has been made, as this information is not routinely collected. The Online Safety Act 2023 introduces significant new protections from online suicide content. Under the act, in-scope services will have to take robust action against illegal suicide content, including taking proactive action to prevent users from encountering content that amounts to an offence under the Suicide Act 1961, and rapidly remove illegal suicide content once they become aware of it. Where content falls below the criminal threshold but is nonetheless harmful to children, in-scope services likely to be accessed by children must take steps to prevent children from encountering content that promotes, encourages, or provides instructions for suicide, including through the use of age assurance technologies.

Secondary information