A coroner has warned Google that vulnerable young people have all-too-easy access to suicide discussions online after a 16-year-old took his own life in Bromley.
The coroner also expressed concern that US companies operating in the UK are not beholden to UK online data access requests, meaning investigations into deaths are frustrated because they can refuse to supply information.
On November 28, 2023, Leo Barber died on the railway at Shortlands. Following his death, his family paid tribute: “Leo was an incredibly bright, sensitive, funny and loving boy with the world at his feet and could have achieved anything he put his mind to. He will be incredibly missed as our son, big brother, nephew, grandson and friend.
“We are truly devastated and heartbroken as a family with the loss of our beautiful Leo. Our lives will truly never be the same again and we will carry his memory forward as we fight for change for those affected by autism and mental health.”
An inquest into Leo’s death concluded on September 18 this year, with Coroner Edmund Gritt ruling the 16-year-old’s death a suicide. Following the inquest, Mr Gritt sent a Prevention of Future Deaths report to Google to warn the tech company that children are able to access online material that can reinforce a decision to end their own life.
According to the report, Leo suffered “a severe deterioration in his mental health” in the summer and autumn of 2023 while he was living at home with his family and under the care of crisis mental health services.
Using his Gmail address on his phone, Leo opened an account on a website that acts as a forum for people to discuss suicide methods.
Mr Gritt said: “I did not see any postings of express incitement or direct encouragement that Leo should end his life, and it would seem that he came to the site because he was already subject to suicidal ideation.
“But for an extremely vulnerable person such as Leo, it would provide an environment in which he might find collective approval for taking the step of ending his life and be reinforced in that step by that approval.”
During the investigation into Leo’s death, police were only able to access Leo’s online activity as Leo’s parents provided them with his believed usernames and passwords.
Mr Gritt said that without this access, his “investigation would have been frustrated and incomplete in respect of a matter of grave concern”.
The coroner requested Leo’s online activity before his death from Google via Ofcom and the Online Safety Act 2023, but Google didn’t provide the material as Google is subject to US, not UK law, and US law prohibits compliance with this type of access request.
Mr Gritt expressed concern that similar circumstances could happen again in the future. He said: “The risk that future coronial investigations might be so frustrated does itself give rise to the risk of future deaths, in that coronial investigations cumulatively mitigate the risk of such deaths.
“I am therefore concerned that there is a risk of future deaths where vulnerable individuals in England and Wales may access potentially harmful online material from a service provider not within the jurisdiction of England and Wales.”
Mr Gritt sent his report to the Vice President and Managing Director of Google UK & Ireland, calling upon the company to take action to prevent further deaths.
If you have been affected by any of the issues covered in this article, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
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