Sanctioned Suicide
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Sanctioned Suicide (SS) is an
internet forum An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...
known for its open discussion and encouragement of suicide and suicide methods. The forum was founded on March 18, 2018, by self-described
incel An incel ( , an abbreviation of "involuntary celibate") is a member of an online subculture of people who define themselves as unable to get a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. Discussions in incel forums are often character ...
s Diego Joaquín Galante and Lamarcus Small, who go by the online pseudonyms Serge and Marquis. Galante and Small created the website after the subreddit r/SanctionedSuicide was banned by
Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, imag ...
; both the website and the subreddit have been described as the successors to the Usenet newsgroup alt.suicide.holiday. , the forum has over 25,000 members, receiving nearly 10 million page views that same month. Although the forum frames itself as a "
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...
" suicide forum, it has been widely described as " pro-suicide". Sanctioned Suicide has generated widespread scrutiny from news outlets and government officials for the encouragement of suicide by members on the site, as well as the site's promotion of the use of
sodium nitrite Sodium nitrite is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaNO2. It is a white to slightly yellowish crystalline powder that is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic. From an industrial perspective, it is the most important nitrite ...
as a method of suicide, a previously obscure method. One ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' report found 45 adults and children who died in connection to the site, and a later report found dozens more. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
has identified 21 people who died in connection to the site in the United Kingdom. Access to the forum has been restricted in Italy and Germany.


History and background

The r/SanctionedSuicide subreddit and Sanctioned Suicide have been described as the successors of the Usenet newsgroup alt.suicide.holiday. On March 14, 2018, r/SanctionedSuicide was banned for breaking
Reddit Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, imag ...
's rules on the promotion of violence, prompting Galante and Small to create the site on March 18, 2018. In January 2021, Sanctioned Suicide's original
.com The domain name .com is a top-level domain (TLD) in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. Added at the beginning of 1985, its name is derived from the word ''commercial'', indicating its original intended purpose for domains registere ...
domain name was banned by the domain name registrar
Epik Epik is a right-wing American domain registrar and web hosting company known for providing services to alt-tech websites that host far-right, neo-Nazi, and other extremist materials. It has been described as a haven for the far-right because of i ...
, allegedly for the presence of minors on the site. Following the ban, the site moved to a
.org The domain name .org is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) of the Domain Name System (DNS) used on the Internet. The name is truncated from ''organization''. It was one of the original domains established in 1985, and has been operated by th ...
domain name.


''The New York Times'' investigation

Megan Twohey Megan Twohey () is an American journalist with ''The New York Times''. She has written investigative reports for Reuters, the ''Chicago Tribune,'' and the '' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel''. Twohey's investigative reports have exposed exploitativ ...
and Gabriel Dance of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reportedly discovered the full names of the site founders during the October 2021 data breach of Epik. Following the breach, Twohey and Dance obtained photos of Galante and Small that matched previous appearances of their pseudonymous identities Serge and Marquis. When contacted by ''The New York Times'', Small stated that he had no involvement with the website, suggested his brother may run the site, and denied his mother's name reportedly listed on police records. Galante acknowledged using the pseudonym Serge on the forum but denied founding or operating it, contradicting records on the site which described him as a co-founder and administrator of the website. After the two co-founders were named by ''The New York Times'', Galante and Small announced their resignations as administrators, writing that they handed the forum over to a member going by the username RainAndSadness. In an interview with the
Poynter Institute The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a non-profit journalism school and research organization in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The school is the owner of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' newspaper and the International Fact-Checking Netw ...
, Twohey stated that the decision to name the website and the suicide methods promoted by the site were "two of the biggest ethical issues that we had ever dealt with". Following discussions with medical experts, law enforcement, and families, ''The New York Times'' team chose to name the website and the preservative once in the report, so as not to potentially raise the website's profile.


Galante and Small

Galante and Small describe themselves as
incel An incel ( , an abbreviation of "involuntary celibate") is a member of an online subculture of people who define themselves as unable to get a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. Discussions in incel forums are often character ...
s and run a number of incel and
manosphere The manosphere is a collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism. Communities within the manosphere include men's rights activists, incels (involuntary celibates), Men Going Their O ...
related forums where members' discussions have been characterized as condoning, downplaying, or advocating
violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often con ...
. A September 2022 report from the
Center for Countering Digital Hate The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) is a British non-profit organisation with offices in London and Washington, DC. It campaigns for big tech firms to stop providing services to individuals who may promote hate and misinformation, ...
described one of the forums as the largest forum dedicated to incel ideology. In response to a 2019 '' BuzzFeed News'' report which disclosed their connection to the incel forums, Small stated that the site's moderation was handled independently of the incel sites. Sanctioned Suicide has been noted as the only forum run by Galante and Small that does not restrict access by women. ''The'' ''New York Times'' investigation also reported that Small framed the site as part of a fight against censorship after the site received scrutiny for several deaths associated with the forum.


Site overview

The site is divided into three forums: ''Recovery'', ''Suicide Discussion'', and ''Offtopic''. The recovery forum hosts recovery-related support discussions, the suicide discussion forum hosts discussions on suicide methods, and the offtopic forum hosts discussions on hobbies and other general interests. The suicide discussion forum is substantially more popular than the other two forums, including both detailed discussions of suicide methods and encouragement to commit suicide, which users refer to by the euphemism "catching the bus". The site also hosts live chats and private messaging. An April 2023 study published by the Association for Computing Machinery found that most new users were active only in the first few weeks after making their accounts and their first posts were more likely to be about suicide and methods. According to an informal survey conducted on the site, half of the forum's userbase were 25 or younger. The forum has been widely described as pro-suicide, although the site frames itself as "
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...
" and denies that it actively encourages suicide. While the site includes links to suicide hotlines and other mental health resources, Small noted that registrants who only sought the recovery forum would be unlikely to be approved.


Deaths

A December 2021 ''New York Times'' investigation identified 45 members who died by suicide in connection to the website, with a later report finding dozens more. In February 2022, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
also identified 21 people who died in connection to the site in the United Kingdom. ''The New York Times'' investigation also identified more than 500 threads where users announced their suicide plans and did not continue to post. Among those identified by ''The New York Times'' was a 22-year-old woman from Glasgow who died by suicide after meeting a man on the site who had previously sexually assaulted and assisted in the suicides of several other women through the forum. In December 2022, he pled guilty to culpable and reckless conduct with a sexual element and is reportedly the first person in the UK convicted in connection to the site. ''The New York Times'' also identified an Australian who died by suicide after members of Sanctioned Suicide taunted him and suggested he should film his death. An investigation by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
on the same death reported that his family believes the forum was the deciding factor in his death. Multiple parents of children who died by suicide after spending time on the site have publicly called on the forum to shut down, including a
Facebook group Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...
with over 1,000 members. The moderators of the forum have since restricted the accounts of dead users to prevent family members or law enforcement from accessing them.


Response

In April 2019, the original .com domain name of Sanctioned Suicide was blocked by the Australian Federal Police under Section 313 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. A November 2022
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
investigation found that between 2017 and October 2020, there had been 20 suicide deaths from the meat preservative
sodium nitrite Sodium nitrite is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaNO2. It is a white to slightly yellowish crystalline powder that is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic. From an industrial perspective, it is the most important nitrite ...
in Australia, an increase from zero deaths across the previous 16 years. In response, the Australian
Therapeutic Goods Administration The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is the medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency of the Australian Government. As part of the Department of Health and Aged Care, the TGA regulates the quality, supply and advertising of medicines, p ...
reclassified the substance in 2022, further restricting its sale. Following the publication of the ABC investigation, which led some
internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privat ...
s to block the site, Sanctioned Suicide blocked access to the site in Australia, stating "anti-liberty countries will just be blocked". In March 2020, the site was blocked from online search results in Germany. Prosecutors in Italy blocked access to the site in June 2021 following the deaths of two Italian teenagers by suicide. In December 2021, seven members of the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
wrote to Attorney General
Merrick Garland Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...
to clarify what action could be taken against the site under U.S. law. Following a statement from the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than ...
,
Microsoft Bing Microsoft Bing (commonly known as Bing) is a web search engine owned and operated by Microsoft. The service has its origins in Microsoft's previous search engines: MSN Search, Windows Live Search and later Live Search. Bing provides a variety ...
responded by lowering the ranking of the site in its search results, however both
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
and Bing declined requests to remove the site from search results absent a legal requirement. While many U.S. states have laws against assisting suicide, federal law provides immunity from liability for web operators for most user-generated content. April Foreman, a psychologist on the executive board of the
American Association of Suicidology The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which advocates for suicide prevention. It was established in 1968 by Edwin S. Shneidman, who has been called "a pioneer in suicide prevention." Its official jou ...
, argued that rather than block the site, better systems of support for people with suicidal ideation need to be created. In response to ''The New York Times'' investigation, Uruguayan law enforcement launched an investigation against Galante, who resides in Uruguay. However, sources from the prosecutor's office stated that "it is very difficult to establish a crime" since Uruguayan law requires personal involvement.


See also

*
Antinatalism Antinatalism or anti-natalism is the view that procreation is wrong. Antinatalists argue that humans should abstain from procreation because it is morally wrong. In scholarly and literary writings, various ethical arguments have been put forth ...
* Assisted suicide *
Death-positive movement The Order of the Good Death is a death acceptance organization founded in 2011 by mortician and author Caitlin Doughty. The group advocates for natural burial and embracing human mortality. Along with Doughty, members include Sarah Chavez, Direc ...
*
Internet censorship Internet censorship is the legal control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet. Censorship is most often applied to specific internet domains (such as Wikipedia.org) but exceptionally may extend to all Int ...
*
Internet governance Internet governance consists of a system of laws, rules, policies and practices that dictate how its board members manage and oversee the affairs of any internet related-regulatory body. This article describes how the Internet was and is currentl ...
*
Internet safety Internet safety or online safety or cyber safety and E-Safety is trying to be safe on the internet and is the act of maximizing a user's awareness of personal safety and security risks to private information and property associated with using the i ...
*
Philosophy of suicide In ethics and other branches of philosophy, suicide poses difficult questions, answered differently by various philosophers. The French Algerian essayist, novelist, and playwright Albert Camus (1913–1960) began his philosophical essay '' The ...
*
Right to die The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings are entitled to end their life or undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood that a person with a terminal illness, incurable pain, or without ...
*
Suicide and the Internet Suicide and the Internet have increasingly important relationships as Internet use becomes more ubiquitous. Several Internet suicides have occurred, and issues involving social media and suicide have gained some attention. A survey has found t ...
* Suicide prevention *
Voluntary euthanasia Voluntary euthanasia (VE) is the ending of a person's life at their request in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in recent years. Some forms of ...


Notes


References

{{Authority Control Internet-related controversies Internet ethics Internet properties established in 2018 Internet services shut down by a legal challenge Suicide and the Internet Internet forums