Press Releases
Trahan Leads Bipartisan Call for Action to Stop “Sanctioned Suicide” Website
Washington,
December 21, 2021
LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittees, led a bipartisan group of House members writing to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to request information on the Department’s ability to investigate Sanctioned Suicide, a website that according to a recent New York Times investigation, provides susceptible users with “explicit directions on how to die.” The lawmakers also requested information on the DOJ’s statutory authority – if any – to hold the website’s operators accountable. “Sanctioned Suicide hosts public forums, live chats, and private messaging around suicide. Users share their suicide plans with one another, promote poisons, and post ‘goodbye posts’ and real-time suicide attempts, which are the most-viewed posts on the site,” the lawmakers wrote. “The New York Times article states that only 5% of the posts on Sanctioned Suicide are on recovery and of the hundred most-viewed posts, 53 include instructions or discussions of methods to die by suicide, and 28 narrate attempts. This is deeply disturbing given that the website has 6 million average views per month, four times that of the national suicide prevention lifeline.” Sanctioned Suicide contains countless pages and threads compiled by anonymous users that focus on ways to die by suicide and encourage fellow members to take their own lives. According to the New York Times, members discuss various ways to die by suicide, including “hanging, poison, guns and gas,” and “participants routinely nudge one another along as they share suicide plans, posting reassuring messages, thumbs-up and heart emojis, and praise for those who follow through: ‘brave,’ ‘a legend,’ ‘a hero.’” “The owners of the site try to limit legal liability by encouraging anonymity, requiring users be over 18, and deleting accounts of users after they have posted ‘goodbye’ threads,” the lawmakers continued. “The New York Times identified three victims under 18 in their article. The website’s terms also prohibit users from assisting and encouraging suicide, but a simple visit to the website confirms that this policy is not enforced.” Despite efforts from some service providers and nations like Australia, Germany, and Italy, which have taken the site down or restricted access, Sanctioned Suicide continues to reemerge with new domain names and remains easily accessible via a simple search engine inquiry. Understanding that “there is no federal law criminalizing assisting or encouraging suicide,” the lawmakers requested the DOJ’s response to the following questions:
Lawmakers who co-signed the letter include Representatives David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV-01), Susan Wild (D-PA-07), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-11), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29), and David N. Cicilline (D-RI-01). If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 (TALK)or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. If you are outside of the United States, please click HERE. The full text of the letter is embedded below. A digital copy can be accessed HERE. ------------------------------------- The Honorable Merrick Garland Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Attorney General Garland: Last week, the New York Times published the results of their investigation into Sanctioned Suicide, a website which “provides explicit directions on how to die.” The New York Times lists 45 people who were active on the website and then died by suicide, 22 of whom were living in the United States. We write to you to explore avenues through which the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Congress can pursue justice for the families of these victims. Sanctioned Suicide hosts public forums, live chats, and private messaging around suicide. Users share their suicide plans with one another, promote poisons, and post “goodbye posts” and real-time suicide attempts, which are the most-viewed posts on the site. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and suicide rates have increased by roughly 33% between 1999 and 2019. The New York Times article states that only 5% of the posts on Sanctioned Suicide are on recovery and of the hundred most-viewed posts, 53 include instructions or discussions of methods to die by suicide, and 28 narrate attempts. This is deeply disturbing given that the website has 6 million average views per month, four times that of the national suicide prevention lifeline. Further, after extensive investigation, the article’s authors claim to have identified the two men running the website – Diego Joaquín Galante and Lamarcus Small, though both have denied these allegations. Several service providers have taken the site down, and Australia, Germany, and Italy have each restricted access in their countries. Nevertheless, the site continues to pop up with new domain names. The owners of the site try to limit legal liability by encouraging anonymity, requiring users be over 18, and deleting accounts of users after they have posted “goodbye” threads. The New York Times identified three victims under 18 in their article. The website’s terms also prohibit users from assisting and encouraging suicide, but a simple visit to the website confirms that this policy is not enforced. While it is our understanding that there is no federal law criminalizing assisting or encouraging suicide, we write to do our due diligence and confirm the DOJ’s options for pursuing a case against the owners of this website. Namely:
Thank you for your attention into this pressing matter. Sincerely, ### |