United Kingdom: Office of Communications launched prioritised investigation into provider of online suicide discussion forum over potential breaches of Online Safety Act following evidence of UK access

On 6 November 2025, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) issued an update in its ongoing investigation into the provider of an online suicide discussion forum, opened on 9 April 2025 under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom confirmed that, following the forum’s implementation of a block on 1 July 2025 restricting users with United Kingdom (UK) IP addresses from accessing the service, monitoring activities had been ongoing to ensure the block’s consistency and to prevent circumvention. Evidence submitted by Samaritans on 4 November 2025 indicated that the service remained accessible to UK users. On that basis, Ofcom stated it had reason to believe the access restrictions were not being effectively maintained and that the service might remain available to UK users. The regulator announced it was now prioritising the investigation to reach a conclusion promptly. The case continues to examine compliance with Sections 9, 10, 20, 21, 23, and 102(8) of the Online Safety Act 2023 concerning duties to respond to statutory information requests, conduct and retain risk assessments, and meet illegal content, reporting, and complaints obligations.