Coroner: Google and Amazon must act over British woman’s suicide

LONDON: Google and Amazon must act after a British woman made a suicide pact with two people she met online and used the Internet to buy the poison that killed her, a coroner has said.

Chloe Macdermott, 43, died on May 23, 2021, after buying a lethal substance from the US on Amazon.

She had been struggling with her mental health for several years before she began researching ways to end her life on an online forum, an inquest at Inner West London Coroner’s Court was told earlier this month.

Two days before her death, she “formed an association” with two people with whom she planned suicide.

A day later, she contacted them while her husband was away and “an agreement was made to act that night.”

She ingested the substance at about midnight and died from its effects the next morning.

Coroner Paul Rogers, recording a conclusion of suicide, has issued a prevention of future deaths report to Google and Amazon and said he believes they have the power to stop a similar tragedy from happening.

The report has also been sent to the Home, Health and Culture secretaries alongside the national lead for suicide prevention at the National Police Chiefs Council.

Rogers said it is a “matter of concern” that the forum Macdermott used and others like it “encourage suicide, assist it by provision of information about suicide methods, counsel suicide by providing information about it and thereby potentially facilitate the commission of a criminal offence in the United Kingdom.”

He said: “(The forum, whose name was redacted) is a forum that permits material to be exchanged and viewed within its open chatrooms whereby suicide is encouraged, assisted, counselled and procured through the provision and exchange of information and methods.

“No age or other restrictions are in place to prevent access to children, vulnerable teenagers and vulnerable adults.

“No prominent signposting is in place to organisations from whom help is available to prevent suicide.

“Posts are made by users containing details of methods of suicide without any effective administration to remove such harmful content.”

The availability of the poison online and the ability of Britons to have it delivered from the US “without effective border and/or custom controls” is also a matter of concern, Rogers said.

All organisations the coroner has written to must respond within 56 days.

They must outline the action they intend to take to prevent future deaths and a timetable for doing so.

If no action is proposed they must explain why. – dpa

Those contemplating suicide can reach out to the Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935/ 014-322 3392); Talian Kasih (15999/ 019-261 5999 on WhatsApp); Jakim’s family, social and community care centre (011-1959 8214 on WhatsApp); or Befrienders Kuala Lumpur (03-7627 2929/ email sam@befrienders.org.my/ befrienders centres in malaysia).