Mother wins approval to seek new inquest into son’s death over alleged online ‘blackout challenge’
The Attorney General’s Office has granted a mother permission to seek a new inquest to examine whether social media contributed to her son’s death, in what could be a first-of-its-kind case.
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In December, Ellen Roome applied to the Attorney General’s Office for permission to request that the High Court grant a new inquest into the death of her son, Jools Sweeney, who she believes died as a result of a blackout challenge he saw on TikTok.
Jools’s original inquest lasted just 23 minutes, with the coroner concluding that he had unintentionally taken his own life.
His online activity was not analysed because data had not been gathered from his phone.
However, since the original inquest, new powers have come into effect enabling coroners to request that Ofcom, the regulator of social media platforms in the UK, collect data that may be relevant to investigating a child’s death.
These powers could provide information about the circumstances surrounding Jools’s death, which Ms Roome has been seeking since her son was found unconscious in his room in June 2022.
Read More: Mother suing TikTok over death of son says hearing was 'deeply painful'
During a conversation with Nick Ferrari on LBC’s Online Safety Day, however, Ms Roome lamented the “incredibly frustrating” 13-week wait for a decision from the Attorney General’s Office.
“I want to know why my 14-year-old son isn’t alive,” she explained to Nick. “While there’s a law that I could use to possibly get answers, then I want to try it.
"We have to apply to the High Court, but then I can use the new Data (Use and Access) Act to demand social media companies release that data... but I'm still waiting for the Attorney General to respond, and that's incredibly frustrating.”
After the interview, LBC sent enquiries to the Attorney General’s Office, including a question about whether her request had reached Lord Hermer’s desk.
Within 48 hours of LBC’s final query, Ms Roome received a letter from the Solicitor General, Ellie Reeves, confirming that the fiat - the authorisation from the Attorney General’s Office which allows the family to apply for a new inquest - had been granted.
Ms Roome told LBC of her relief following the decision:
“I am determined to ensure that the full circumstances surrounding my son’s death are finally examined.
“This will be the first case of its kind, where a parent is asking the High Court to reopen an inquest because a child’s online and social media data was not properly examined during the original investigation.”
As well as seeking a new inquest for Jools, Ms Roome has launched legal action against the social media giant TikTok and its owner, ByteDance.
The case, which is being heard in Delaware, alleges that Jools, Isaac Kenevan, 13, Archie Battersbee, 12, Noah Gibson, 11, and Maia Walsh, 13, all died while attempting the online blackout challenge.
The legal claim says the children’s deaths were "the foreseeable result of ByteDance's engineered addiction-by-design and programming decisions… aimed at pushing children into maximising their engagement with TikTok by any means necessary".
TikTok denies the accusation, saying that the platform “strictly prohibit[s] content that promotes or encourages dangerous behaviour.”
The social media giant has sought to dismiss the case, expressing its “deepest sympathies” for the families bringing the lawsuit, but arguing that US law says platforms are not liable for third-party content.