KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of Health and Wellness says it has suspended the National Family Planning Board’s (NFPB) Yute Expression’s Yute Chatz chat line and is now conducting an assessment of the platform in relation to the health and family life policy of the Government of Jamaica.

The suspension follows a Jamaica Observer report in which a Christian youth group and the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ) demanded its removal on claims that it was promoting deviant sexual behaviour.

Love March Movement President Dr Daniel Thomas further detailed that in his interaction with the platform he noticed that inappropriate conversations about sex and sexuality were taking place with children without parental supervision or consent.

READ: ‘Horrifying’: Groups want Yute Chatz chatbot removed; say it promotes deviant sexual behaviour

Shortly after the report, the health ministry said it noted concerns raised by members of the public and was now assessing the platform.

The chatbot, Yute Chatz, was launched in January this year in partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and U-Report Jamaica. It provides information to children 13 years and older about contraceptives, pregnancy, HIV, sex, mental health, and more.