The coroner has stated that Google and Amazon need to take action after a British woman formed a suicide agreement with two individuals she met online and purchased the lethal substance from the internet.
Chloe Macdermott, a 43-year-old woman, passed away on May 23, 2021 after purchasing a dangerous substance from Amazon in the US. According to an inquest at the inner west London coroner’s court this month, she had been dealing with mental health issues for multiple years and had started looking into methods to end her life on an online forum.
Two days prior to her passing, she established a connection with two individuals and together they made plans to commit suicide. The following day, she reached out to them while her husband was absent and they agreed to carry out the act that evening. Shortly after midnight, she consumed the substance and passed away the following morning due to its effects.
Paul Rogers, the coroner, determined that the cause of death was suicide and has issued a report to Google and Amazon urging them to take preventative measures to avoid similar tragedies in the future. He believes these companies have the ability to prevent such incidents.
The report has been delivered to the secretaries of home, health, and culture, as well as the national leader for suicide prevention at the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Rogers expressed worry over the fact that the forum used by Macdermott and others promotes and aids in suicide by providing information on methods and counseling individuals about it, potentially enabling them to commit a criminal act in the UK.
He stated that the forum, which cannot be named, allows for material to be shared and seen in its public chatrooms, where encouragement, assistance, counseling, and procurement of suicide is facilitated through the sharing and exchange of information and methods.
There are no rules or limitations to stop children, vulnerable teenagers, and vulnerable adults from accessing harmful content. There is also no clear indication for organizations offering help to prevent suicide. Users are able to share information about ways to commit suicide without any proper measures to remove this harmful content.
Rogers expressed concern about the accessibility of online poison and the ease with which it can be delivered to Britons from the US without proper border and customs controls in place.
The coroner has sent letters to all organizations, who are required to reply within 56 days. They must provide details of their plans to prevent future deaths and a timeline for implementation. If no plan is suggested, they must clarify the reason.
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In the United Kingdom and Ireland, individuals can reach Samaritans for free by calling 116 123, emailing [email protected] or [email protected]. For those in the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached by calling or texting 988, chatting on 988lifeline.org, or texting HOME to 741741 for assistance from a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline can be contacted at 13 11 14. For additional international helplines, please visit befrienders.org.
Source: theguardian.com
