Amazon “suicide kits” have led to teen deaths, according to new lawsuit

TL;DR

Lawyers, who are representing parents suing Amazon for selling “suicide kits” to teenagers who died by suicide, say they have reached a “breaking point.”Amazon lawyers have allegedly told parents that the online retailer had a right to sell these so-called “suicide kits."One of the parents’ lawyers, Carrie Goldberg, took to Twitter yesterday, alleging that Amazon’s corporate ties with news outlets like CBS are effectively working to silence media attention for their lawsuit, while more lives likely remain at risk.“But we have reached a breaking point of too many people dying, of medical providers not knowing what is happening or that a treatment protocol exists, and of press spiking stories about it—presumably because of corporate ties to Amazon.”In her tweet thread, Goldberg claimed that a producer told her that CBS canceled a pair of 60 Minutes segments on the lawsuit—after CBS requested an exclusive—because “higher-ups at CBS quashed the story.” Allegedly, the producer said these executives “didn’t want to risk anybody dying from suicide on account of their segment.” Ars found that CBS News has previously in 2020 reported on lethal uses of sodium nitrite and last month did a 60 Minutes segment on child suicides.An Amazon spokesperson provided a statement to Ars, saying, “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones personally affected by suicide.The lawsuit says that Congress expressed concern in a letter to the online retailer that Amazon provides “minors and adults with easy access to sodium nitrite, a deadly chemical.”Both teen suicide cases described in the lawsuit illustrate how easy it can be for teens to quickly access the chemical on Amazon."

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