Pro-suicide websites are often harmful to their users, some of which may just be looking for help, rather than encouragement to kill themselves. However, preventing these websites is much easier said than done. Due to free-speech laws in many countries, illegalizing these sites proves nearly impossible. In addition, while aiding and abetting suicide is illegal, it is difficult to connect a single person to the suicide of a user. With these websites, it is often unclear who the direct cause of the suicide is. It is often an entire community encouraging suicide and a sub-culture of suicide glorifiers. In addition, it is possible that the person would have killed themselves anyways, without the website’s influence. This makes it very difficult to arrest members of these communities. In addition, any attempts to block suicide-positive sites may also inadvertently block websites meaning to help people struggling with suicide and providing useful resources. The United States, Great Britain, and New Zealand all have unsuccessfully attempted to pass laws to restrict these sites, but all have been overturned due to free-speech laws in their constitutions. However, Australia successfully passed a law in 2004 that bans internet activity that encourages suicide or provides instructions on how to do so. Most countries rely on internet service providers to block access to these websites, but these are usually unsuccessful. (Mishara,Weisstub, 2007) In addition, blocking access to these pro-suicide websites only drives them deeper underground. Rather than banning these sites, researchers suggest making resources
and aid more visible, as well as qualified psychiatric help being encouraged by all websites. (Becker et al., 2005)
