Sanctioned Suicide

Sanctioned Suicide (SS) is an internet forum co-founded in 2018 by Diego Joaquín Galante and Lamarcus Small, known respectively by online pseudonyms Marquis and Serge, as the successor to the banned subreddit r/SanctionedSuicide.[2][3] The forum is dedicated to approaching the topic of suicide from a pro-choice perspective and notably does not restrict discussion on suicide methods.[3][4] Sanctioned Suicide drew over 10 million page views in September 2022 and as of February 2023, the forum has over 29,000 members.[5][1] The site is funded primarily through donations.[2]

Sanctioned Suicide
Screenshot
Screenshot of Sanctioned Suicide on May 11, 2022
Type of site
Internet forum
Available inEnglish
Founder(s)Diego Joaquín Galante and Lamarcus Small
URL
RegistrationOptional[notes 1]
Users29,205[1]
LaunchedMarch 2018 (2018-03)[2]
Current statusOnline

The forum has generated intense scrutiny from news outlets and government officials for the encouragement of suicide by members[6][7][8][9] and the description of specific suicide methods, notably sodium nitrite.[3][10][11] The New York Times has identified more than 50 people worldwide who have died in connection to the site and the BBC has identified 21 people who have died in connection to the site in the United Kingdom.[12][13] Access to the forum has been restricted in Australia, Italy, and Germany.[3][14][15]

History
See also: r/SanctionedSuicide

r/SanctionedSuicide and Sanctioned Suicide have been described as the successors of Usenet newsgroup alt.suicide.holiday and a homonymously named forum accessible through the Tor network.[4][16][17]

On March 14, 2018, the r/SanctionedSuicide subreddit was banned for breaking Reddit's rules on the promotion of violence, prompting Galante and Small to create the site.[2][18] Following the naming of the two co-founders by The New York Times in 2021, Galante and Small resigned as administrators, turning the site over to a member going by the username RainAndSadness.[10] Small told The Times that he did not have involvement with the website, and Galante denied co-founding or operating it, but acknowledged using the pseudonym Serge on the website.[10]

Criticism

Galante and Small describe themselves as incels and have been found to run a number of incel and manosphere related sites where members condone, downplay, or advocate violence against women.[2][19]

In March 2020, the site was removed from online search results in Germany and taken down in compliance with German law.[3] Prosecutors in Italy blocked access to the site in June 2021 following the deaths of two Italian teenagers by suicide.[14] A December 2021 New York Times article identified 45 people who died by suicide after spending time on the website.[3] In response, Uruguayan law enforcement has launched an investigation against Galante, who resides in Uruguay.[10][20] Both of the founders stepped down in the wake of The Times investigation.

Lawmakers in the U.S. have called for action against the site, though no law enforcement officials have pursued cases in connection with the site as of December 2021. Many U.S. states have laws against assisting suicide, but they are often vague, do not explicitly address online activity, and are rarely enforced.[10]

See also

Notes
  1. While parts of the site can be viewed without an account, registration is required to post, react, and access the suicide discussion section.

References
  1. "Sanctioned Suicide". Sanctioned Suicide. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  2. Nashrulla, Tasneem (2019-06-06). "Incels Are Running An Online Suicide Forum That Was Blamed For A Young Woman's Death". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2023-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Twohey, Megan; Dance, Gabriel J. X. (2021-12-09). "Where the Despairing Log On, and Learn Ways to Die". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  4. Love, Shayla (2020-11-19). "People Are Dying After Joining a 'Pro-Choice' Suicide Forum". VICE News. Retrieved 2023-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Dance, Gabriel J. X.; Twohey, Megan (2022-11-02). "Bill Outlawing Online Suicide Assistance Would Open Sites to Liability". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  6. McGarvey, Emily (2021-05-08). "Mother speaks out against suicide forum after son's death". BBC Northern Ireland. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  7. Delaney, James (2022-12-22). "First conviction for man who encouraged women on website to take own lives". STV News. Retrieved 2023-02-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. Ahmed, Imran (2022-09-23). "The Incelosphere: Exposing pathways into incel communities and the harms they pose to women and children" (PDF). Center for Countering Digital Hate. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-02-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Bucher, Merideth (2019-09-23). "Shawn's Law; a bill to combat aided suicide". WITF. Retrieved 2023-02-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. Dance, Gabriel J. X.; Twohey, Megan (2021-12-21). "Lawmakers Urge Big Tech to 'Mitigate Harm' of Suicide Site and Seek Justice Inquiry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  11. Schnell, Mychael (2021-12-21). "Lawmakers call on tech firms to take threat of suicide site seriously, limit its visibility". The Hill. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  12. Twohey, Megan; Dance, Gabriel J. X. (2022-02-04). "Lawmakers Press Amazon on Sales of Chemical Used in Suicides". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  13. Crawford, Angus; Smith, Tony (2022-02-02). "The families fighting to shut down suicide websites". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  14. "Site blocked for helping youngsters to kill themselves - English". ANSA. 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2023-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. Bridges, Alicia (2022-11-21). "A pro-suicide website linked to deaths is now blocked to Australians, but not because of the families who spoke out". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  16. Brown, Jennings (2016-12-05). "The Strange Legacy Of The Internet's First Sanctioned Suicide Forum". Vocativ. Retrieved 2023-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (2015-03-27). "The Deep Web Suicide Site". Vice News. Retrieved 2023-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. "SanctionedSuicide: banned". Reddit. 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  19. Lorenz, Taylor (2022-09-23). "The online incel movement is getting more violent and extreme, report says". Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  20. Tong, Scott; McMahon, Serena. "Disturbing website encourages vulnerable users to die by suicide. What's being done about it?". WBUR. Retrieved 2023-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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