Sakura.
Nienawidzę siebie.
- May 1, 2024
- 307
"Internet providers split over blocking of suicide forum amid calls for urgent action
Sinn Féin TD [member of the Lower House of the Irish Parliament] says she will now contact gardaí [Ireland's Police] directly about the site after her question to the justice minister was not accepted for answer.
The lack of a common approach towards the site comes as Sinn Féin mental health spokesperson Sorca Clarke queried whether the government had engaged with gardaí, the online regulator and internet providers about restricting access to the harmful forum.
However, her parliamentary question was not accepted for answer by the minister, with Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy stating that the matter fell under the responsibility of Coimisiún na Meán [Ireland's internet regulator] and the Garda [Police] Commissioner.
Clarke told The Journal she will now contact An Garda Síochána [Police] directly.
It comes just days after the TD was told by Ireland's regulator that it is continuing its investigations into the site after The Journal Investigates revealed it was linked to at least two deaths here.
In an email to Clarke, Coimisiún na Meán said it was engaging with the service provider in question, but added that Irish internet service providers do not have to wait for the regulator's process to conclude before taking action themselves.
The regulator said its work "does not prevent Irish internet service providers from immediately taking steps to prevent their users from accessing the service now or at any point in the future".
The Journal can reveal that some internet service providers have blocked the site from its users, while others have not.
Eir calls for joint approach
According to Irish network operator Eir, there are currently over 40 internet service providers operating in Ireland.
The Journal contacted five of the major service providers and asked if they had, or intended to, block access to the forum for its users.
In a statement, Three Ireland confirmed that it blocked the forum across its network in July 2025. Sky also confirmed it has blocked the website in Ireland, but declined to say when the restriction was introduced.
Eir did not directly answer whether it had blocked the forum. However, a spokesperson said restrictions should be introduced through "clear legal or regulatory direction" and applied consistently across the telecommunications sector.
The spokesperson added: "With more than 40 internet service providers operating in Ireland, a regulator-led approach is essential to ensure that any measures are fair, proportionate and effective."
"Such an approach also provides the legal certainty needed to avoid a fragmented system in which individual providers are expected to make judgements about access to online content."
"In practice, this would be both difficult to implement consistently and unlikely to be effective, as users could readily circumvent restrictions imposed by individual providers and continue to access harmful sites."
Vodafone said: "This is a matter we take very seriously, and we work closely with organisations such as the Internet Watch Foundation and Irish Internet Hotline to help tackle illegal online content.
"Vodafone complies with applicable legal and regulatory requirements in relation to illegal online content and net neutrality obligations."
Virgin Media Ireland did not respond to requests for comment.
Question to justice minister not accepted
The Journal Investigates revealed how vulnerable people in Ireland were able to freely access the site, despite restrictions on it in the UK.
Last year, Ofcom fined the forum's provider STG £950,000 (€1.12 million) for online-safety breaches and warned it could seek a court order requiring UK internet providers to block access.
Now, when UK users attempt to access the forum, including those in Northern Ireland, they are met with a message blocking access to the site. However, that is not the case in the Republic of Ireland.
Coimisiún na Meán told The Journal Investigates it is "actively engaging with the service in question" and is reviewing its compliance with the EU Digital Services Act.
In response to the findings, Clarke tabled a question to Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan.
She asked whether the government had engaged with Coimisiún na Meán, An Garda Síochána and relevant online service providers about websites that encourage or facilitate suicide.
Her question also sought details of any measures being taken to remove or restrict access to such platforms.
In a letter dated 7 July, Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy said the minister had "no official responsibility to Dáil Éireann" for the matter under Standing Order 45.
Murphy said it was instead a matter for Coimisiún na Meán and the Garda Commissioner.
Clarke told The Journal that she is now contacting An Garda Síochána directly.
"These platforms prey on vulnerable people at their lowest point and have no place in our society," she said.
"It is unacceptable that websites of this nature can continue to operate freely while other countries have taken action to restrict access."
'We need regulation with teeth'
In a statement released last month, Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney said she had written to Coimisiún na Meán and the Media Minister calling for immediate action on blocking the site in Ireland.
Gibney, who sits on the Oireachtas committee examining artificial intelligence, said it was a "State failing" that the content remained accessible in Ireland.
"Ireland is not taking its responsibilities to protect people from online harms seriously," she said in a statement.
"While we repeatedly hear statements and expressions of concern from Government, we have not seen tangible action to make the internet safer."
Gibney said the victims of online harms and their families deserved better from the authorities responsible for protecting them.
"We need regulation with teeth which will ensure websites like this one aren't available here, like the UK and many other countries have already done," she said."
www.thejournal.ie
Sinn Féin TD [member of the Lower House of the Irish Parliament] says she will now contact gardaí [Ireland's Police] directly about the site after her question to the justice minister was not accepted for answer.
The lack of a common approach towards the site comes as Sinn Féin mental health spokesperson Sorca Clarke queried whether the government had engaged with gardaí, the online regulator and internet providers about restricting access to the harmful forum.
However, her parliamentary question was not accepted for answer by the minister, with Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy stating that the matter fell under the responsibility of Coimisiún na Meán [Ireland's internet regulator] and the Garda [Police] Commissioner.
Clarke told The Journal she will now contact An Garda Síochána [Police] directly.
It comes just days after the TD was told by Ireland's regulator that it is continuing its investigations into the site after The Journal Investigates revealed it was linked to at least two deaths here.
In an email to Clarke, Coimisiún na Meán said it was engaging with the service provider in question, but added that Irish internet service providers do not have to wait for the regulator's process to conclude before taking action themselves.
The regulator said its work "does not prevent Irish internet service providers from immediately taking steps to prevent their users from accessing the service now or at any point in the future".
The Journal can reveal that some internet service providers have blocked the site from its users, while others have not.
Eir calls for joint approach
According to Irish network operator Eir, there are currently over 40 internet service providers operating in Ireland.
The Journal contacted five of the major service providers and asked if they had, or intended to, block access to the forum for its users.
In a statement, Three Ireland confirmed that it blocked the forum across its network in July 2025. Sky also confirmed it has blocked the website in Ireland, but declined to say when the restriction was introduced.
Eir did not directly answer whether it had blocked the forum. However, a spokesperson said restrictions should be introduced through "clear legal or regulatory direction" and applied consistently across the telecommunications sector.
The spokesperson added: "With more than 40 internet service providers operating in Ireland, a regulator-led approach is essential to ensure that any measures are fair, proportionate and effective."
"Such an approach also provides the legal certainty needed to avoid a fragmented system in which individual providers are expected to make judgements about access to online content."
"In practice, this would be both difficult to implement consistently and unlikely to be effective, as users could readily circumvent restrictions imposed by individual providers and continue to access harmful sites."
Vodafone said: "This is a matter we take very seriously, and we work closely with organisations such as the Internet Watch Foundation and Irish Internet Hotline to help tackle illegal online content.
"Vodafone complies with applicable legal and regulatory requirements in relation to illegal online content and net neutrality obligations."
Virgin Media Ireland did not respond to requests for comment.
Question to justice minister not accepted
The Journal Investigates revealed how vulnerable people in Ireland were able to freely access the site, despite restrictions on it in the UK.
Last year, Ofcom fined the forum's provider STG £950,000 (€1.12 million) for online-safety breaches and warned it could seek a court order requiring UK internet providers to block access.
Now, when UK users attempt to access the forum, including those in Northern Ireland, they are met with a message blocking access to the site. However, that is not the case in the Republic of Ireland.
Coimisiún na Meán told The Journal Investigates it is "actively engaging with the service in question" and is reviewing its compliance with the EU Digital Services Act.
In response to the findings, Clarke tabled a question to Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan.
She asked whether the government had engaged with Coimisiún na Meán, An Garda Síochána and relevant online service providers about websites that encourage or facilitate suicide.
Her question also sought details of any measures being taken to remove or restrict access to such platforms.
In a letter dated 7 July, Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy said the minister had "no official responsibility to Dáil Éireann" for the matter under Standing Order 45.
Murphy said it was instead a matter for Coimisiún na Meán and the Garda Commissioner.
Clarke told The Journal that she is now contacting An Garda Síochána directly.
"These platforms prey on vulnerable people at their lowest point and have no place in our society," she said.
"It is unacceptable that websites of this nature can continue to operate freely while other countries have taken action to restrict access."
'We need regulation with teeth'
In a statement released last month, Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney said she had written to Coimisiún na Meán and the Media Minister calling for immediate action on blocking the site in Ireland.
Gibney, who sits on the Oireachtas committee examining artificial intelligence, said it was a "State failing" that the content remained accessible in Ireland.
"Ireland is not taking its responsibilities to protect people from online harms seriously," she said in a statement.
"While we repeatedly hear statements and expressions of concern from Government, we have not seen tangible action to make the internet safer."
Gibney said the victims of online harms and their families deserved better from the authorities responsible for protecting them.
"We need regulation with teeth which will ensure websites like this one aren't available here, like the UK and many other countries have already done," she said."
Internet providers split over blocking of suicide forum amid calls for urgent action
Sinn Féin TD says she will now contact gardaí directly about the site after her question to the justice minister was not accepted for answer.
www.thejournal.ie
