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Bereaved families are calling on the online regulator Ofcom to shut down a “vile” website which backs videos of the deaths of their adored ones.
The website, which we are not naming, has more than three million members and includes thousands of explicit photos and videos of genuine-life endings and self-destructions as well as executions carried out by extremists. Past members integrate those who have gone on to promise school shootings and killings, the BBC can uncover.
From Monday, Ofcom gets new powers to crack down on illegitimate satisfyed, but it may not be enough to shut the site.
The site’s admin team have shelp they would give their “filled attention” to any Ofcom seeks.
Under the Online Safety Act, the regulator can now apexhibit action over illegitimate satisfyed and that integrates videos promoting radicalism or banned extremist groups.
All websites will now have to show they have systems in place to erase illegitimate material. If they flunk to do so, the regulator can get court orders to block platestablishs or impose fines of up to £18m.
And from the summer all sites must have strong age verification systems to impede children accessing a range of satisfyed.
But critics count on the legislation itself is feeble and that Ofcom is not being strong enough in how it structures to police sites.
Mike Haines’ brother David was killinged by members of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria in 2014. The filled uncensored video of his ending is on the site.
Mr Haines says the website is “vile” and depicts the satisfyed on it as “horrifying”. He points out there is no effective age verification and worries about the impact on children.
“It’s enjoy a drug,” he says, “once you’ve had your first taste, you want another taste.
“So you want to see more, and it becomes more aggressive and more explicit and more disgusting”.
David Haines’ daughter, Bethany, says the comments on the videos are horrendous. “For years I have been trying to protect track and alert sites such as this one. I have a stress that my son will one day see the video of his magnificentoverweighther.”
Mr Haines says the authorities must act now. “Every second that we postpone in shutting this site down, we are endangering our youth.”
Ofcom has spent the past 18 months since the Online Safety Act was passed draprosperg up the codes of rehearse that platestablishs have to chase.
The regulator can now commence to exercise its powers to spendigate and fine platestablishs for structureing illegitimate material.
Videos on the website are categoelevated into groups, which integrate executions by extremist groups as well as people being burned alive, decapitated by passing cars and crushed by trains.
Although aggressive and troubleing, not all videos on the site would be deemed illegitimate.
Dr Olivia Brown, who studies radicalisation and extremism at the University of Bath, says repeated watching of these benevolents of videos, especiassociate school shootings, desensitises engagers.
“What might have seemed enjoy an impossible solution to what someone might be senseing, would then become someleang that might sense enjoy a viable selection,” she says.
The site is also proset uply troubleing for grieving families.
A video of base jumper Nathan Odinson has been put in the “droping” catebloody of the website by site administrators.
The 33-year-ageder from Cambridgesengage was an sended skydiver, but died when his parachute flunked to uncover after jumping from a 29-storey tower in Pattaya, Thailand, last year.
A Thai friend was filming at the time and the video was posted first on local social media.
“Nathan was a family member that we adored,” shelp his brother Ed Harrison.
“I set up it amazing, literassociate, that people could be so half-witted as to separate that video. I don’t presume these forum members have such thoughts in admire to their own family members.”
From today Ofcom says platestablishs must have systems in place to erase illegitimate satisfyed.
“We won’t hesitate to apexhibit applyment action where essential agetst platestablishs that drop unwiseinutive.”
The dispute for Ofcom is that the death website is structureed in the US and its owner and administrators remain anonymous.
Ofcom tageder us “this satisfyed is proset uply upsetting”.
In a statement, the website’s admin team shelp it “routinely gets alerts from many regulatement agencies and industry watchdogs”.
It shelp any alerts from Ofcom “will have our filled attention”.
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