The High Court in London has ordered a new inquest into the death of 14-year-old Jools Sweeney, who died in April 2022. His mother, Ellen Roome, successfully challenged the initial 2022 inquiry's conclusion, arguing that potential links between her son's death and social media, specifically TikTok, were not adequately investigated.
Lord Justice Warby and Ms Justice Heather Williams ruled on Thursday that a fresh inquest was warranted due to "various potential lines of inquiry" that had not been considered previously. Harry Lambert, representing Ms. Roome, stated that new evidence had come to light, highlighting "investigative insufficiencies" concerning the role of social media. He also noted that Jools had been contacted by a fraudulent Instagram account, potentially linked to an African crime gang, shortly before his death, and that evidence from his phone suggested a "possible attempt at extortion or 'sextortion'."
Ms. Roome expressed hope that the decision would lead to a better understanding of her son's death and contribute to making the online world safer for children. "Every bereaved family deserves to know that every possible avenue, including a child's digital life, has been properly investigated," she said. "Our greatest hope is that one day no family has to walk this path. No parent should ever have to bury their child because dangerous content was allowed to reach them."
The ruling comes as the UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, announced its own investigation into TikTok. Ofcom is examining whether the platform's measures to prevent children from accessing harmful content are sufficient and if its age verification methods are adequate. "We found some methods of age checks... are not working well enough. We have serious doubts about them and so we have launched an investigation into TikTok," Kate Davies, Ofcom's group director for strategy and research, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
A TikTok spokesperson stated that the company is confident in its compliance with the Online Safety Act and will cooperate with Ofcom's investigation.
Ms. Roome is among five British parents who are separately suing TikTok in the United States over the deaths of their children, with allegations centering on the role of social media platforms.