Advocacy groups who had demanded the removal of the National Family Planning Board’s (NFPB) Yute Chatz chatbot on the ground that it was promoting deviant sexual behaviour have welcomed the Ministry of Health’s prompt response to suspend the operations of the messaging platform.

The suspension came 24 hours after the Sunday Observer highlighted the concerns of the outraged groups, who said they were horrified about the information given to youngsters on such sensitive topics, especially without parental consent or supervision.

“The Ministry of Health and Wellness has noted the concerns raised by members of the public in relation to the use of the Yute Expression’s Yute Chatz chat line and is assessing the concerns as they relate to the Health and Family Life Policy of the Government of Jamaica. In the interim, while the assessments are being conducted, the service will be suspended,” the ministry said in a news release on Monday.

The outraged groups, inclusive of Love March Movement, the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches, and the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ), in recent weeks demanded action from the Government to have the platform suspended or removed.

Love March Movement President Dr Daniel Thomas had told the Sunday Observer 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.

He also noted that the chatbot, intended for youngsters, ages 13 to 24, advised users that they could identify as non-binary, and directed them to contact LGBT rights group J-FLAG for counselling on LGBT issues, and engaged in conversations about alternatives to sexual intercourse, bypassing parental consent.

On Monday, Dr Thomas commended the ministry for the suspension of the platform, but continued his advocacy for its removal.

“Our preference is that it be removed and that our nation’s parents be empowered with information so that they can decide what route they should best take to strengthen their children in terms of issues of significant sensitivity,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“We look forward to the ministry seeking further consultation with the National Parent-Teacher Association, the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, and the Jamaica Guidance Counsellors Association, as necessary, if they seek to create a replacement for it or to amend the chatbot as it now stands,” he said.

Head of the NPTAJ, Stewart Jacobs, also applauded the Ministry of Health for its prompt response to the concerns about the messaging platform.

“I really commend the ministry for listening to the voice of the people and to act accordingly,” said Jacobs. “It is commendable of [them] to try and get a communication tool going and have interactions with children on these sensitive things. However, it has to be done in a responsible tone.”

He, too, urged the ministry to sit with the relevant stakeholders during its review of the platform to determine a way forward.

In its release on Monday, the health and wellness ministry noted that the NFPB, which is currently a public body, is being integrated as a division of the ministry, and “as part of the process of integration, the ministry will review all programmes and activities of the NFPB to determine how they will be implemented as part of the central ministry”.

The ministry also said the integration will be finalised by July 31, 2024, the effective date of the NFPB Repeal Act, which was tabled in 2023.

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

According to the NFPB, the findings of an Adolescent and Youth Rapid Assessment indicated that young people want information that will guide their decision-making, and “with the confidentiality and convenience of the chatbot, the reliance on their friends and less than accurate online sources are lessened”.

It added that the messaging platform was also created to make the uncomfortable conversations that parents dread having with their children “less intimidating”.

According to the NFPB, the information shared via the platform was “meticulously researched and evaluated to ensure appropriateness and accuracy”.