It mainly deals with the question if Search engines like Google and Yahoo should censor their searches for topics like “suicide searches” and deliver some handpicked anti-suicide sites before the other search results.

Both sides are represented in the thread, the people who think its ok if a search engine would censor such requests mainly argue by pointing out the moral aspect while the nay-sayers fear this might cause a precedence for more severe censorship.

I for one would prefer unfiltered search results but allowing for instance anti-suicidal sites to deliver ads for free somewhere on the page when someone uses the keyword suicide. This should satisfy both sides.

It should be clear that the only authority that decides if something has to be banned should be the law and not a search engine.

Search engines in recent years have started to filter out search results that they deem inappropriate. The majority of results are however related to copyright infringement. Search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo are not displaying links to hotlines or help sites that could help people that search for suicide related topics overcome the issues.

Update: Search engines have remained neutral in the matter it seems. They do not display anti-suicide ads or pages when you are searching for suicide related terms such as “how to kill myself”.

I’d advise anyone to consult professional help services and resources like Help Guide or Suicide Prevention Lifeline for suicide help and information.

Another resource is Suicide Hotlines which offers toll free 24/7 phone support for suicide prevention and emotional crisis. Hotlines are available for all US states, Canada and even international.