Google earns money from 'suicide boards'

Google on Saturday admitted that it had been cashing in on the online message board where two strangers planned their suicide and met others who encouraged them to go through with it.

The admission came after the father of one of the victims called for the ‘suicide boards’ to be banned, reported the 'Daily Mail'.

The £25billion (Dh92bn) corporation sold advertising to run alongside the postings used by Joanne Lee and Stephen Lumb to arrange their suicide pact.

They died together in a gas-filled car last weekend.They met on a Usenet online bulletin board, accessed through Google’s website, Google Groups, which it describes as a forum for ‘discussions about how to do yourself in’.

Google – whose unofficial corporate slogan is Don’t Be Evil – says it does not ‘control’ the Usenet message boards but provides easy access to the discussions, and oversees the removal of offending postings if anyone complains.

The California-based firm made profits of more than £4bn last year.  Some of this comes from the ‘sponsored links’ it runs alongside the messages. Last week adverts on the suicide discussion pages included links to sites offering ‘Sulphuric Acid. Call us free on 0800 090 ***’and ‘Hydrogen Sulphide. Find medical and lab equipment. Feed your passion on eBay.co.uk! www.ebay.co.uk/medical.’ These links were apparently generated by Google because of the keywords used in a discussion about what poisons to use for a speedy death.

Last night, after being approached by 'The Mail' on Sunday, Google said it was withdrawing all advertising from the suicide discussion board. It also said that it would be giving organisations such as the Samaritans free adverts alongside Google search results when users typed in the keyword ‘suicide’.

The company added that it had started going through 13 years’ of suicide discussions for anything that it judged included advice or encouragement to those looking to kill themselves.

However, it said it would not be removing the suicide discussion boards from Google Groups or moderating future postings.

Google reacted after a Mail on Sunday investigation showed that Joanne  Lee used a Google Group profile to start posting on the suicide discussion board last month, asking for help and advice on how to kill herself.

On September 13, Lee, using the name Heaven’s Little Girl, wrote: "I’m desperately seeking a pact in the UK. I’m 34, female, and live in the Essex area.’ She said that her preferred method was gas and asked for a partner with a car who could pick her up. My time-frame is 'as soon as possible'. If you are very serious, please e-mail me.’

Last Sunday afternoon, Lumb, with the username Endthis, wrote: "I’m just saying goodbye...and to all you people suffering I hope you find what your [sic] looking for."

Eight fellow forum members wished him luck and bade him farewell, but none tried to dissuade him. Lee and Lumb were found dead last Monday on an industrial estate near her home in Braintree, Essex. Lumb, 35, had apparently driven 200 miles to meet her and within hours of the meeting they died together. Lumb’s father, Melvyn Lumb, 63, last week called for the suicide discussion site to be banned.

Last night Google defended its involvement in allowing access to the suicide board where the pair met. It said: "While the internet is a great source of information, some content can be distressing.Google Groups is a platform which people can use to communicate on a vast number of topics, but they shouldn’t use it to promote dangerous or illegal activities.

Where content is illegal, we remove it once notified and we have taken down suicide material. We are also taking action so that no ads are shown on Google Groups for  this type of content. We give free advertising to the Samaritans so that  when people are searching for information about suicide they can get the  proper help they need."

"I didn't egg Joanne on, says drug addict just out of mental hospital. He is a self-confessed drug addict with a string of convictions who has just been released from a California mental hospital. But with the help of Google, Joanne Lee confided in Bill Hurst rather than her family hours before she killed herself. Hurst, 53, from Citrus Heights, California, befriended Joanne and began correspondence with her on the Google Groups site and in private e-mails, discussing how and by what method she would end her life."

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