Ellen Roome began campaigning for a change in the law after her 14-year-old son died.
She couldn’t understand why her teenage boy, Jools, was no longer with her.
“When Jools took his own life, we assumed we’d turn up at the inquest and be told why and what happened,” Ms Roome previously told Sky News.
“I know how he took his life because I found him. I don’t understand why.”
Every aspect of Jools’ life had been looked into, except for his social media accounts. But when Ellen asked TikTok for his browsing data, so she could see what he’d been watching and whether it was harmful, TikTok said it no longer had it.
Ellen Roome with her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney. Pic: Ellen Roome
It had taken too long for police to request it and by the time they did, it had been deleted under data protection laws.
That’s what Ellen is campaigning to change – and on Tuesday, Jools’ Law will be debated in the House of Lords.
At the moment, when it comes to finding out what happened, bereaved parents say they’ve had a range of experiences.
Some, like Lisa Kenevan, were able to find evidence suggesting social media was linked to their children’s deaths.
Lisa’s son, Isaac was 13 when he died and when the police took away his devices, they found videos apparently recorded through TikTok suggesting he was taking part in the dangerous “Blackout” challenge.
Others, like Liam Walsh, don’t know what happened, only that their child is gone.
“I’ve often thought to myself, ‘If she’d just fallen over and hit her head, you just knew what it was that had happened’. We don’t know what’s happened,” he recently told Sky News.
He, along with Ms Roome, Ms Kenevan and two others, Hollie Dance and Louise Gibson, are suing TikTok in the US in an attempt to find out why their children died.
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Jools’ Law is an attempt to stop more parents having to take drastic action like that if their children have died. Instead of the onus being on grieving parents to find their children’s data, Ms Roome is hoping to make that data’s preservation an automatic part of the process.
“When Jools died, I was crawling up the stairs on my hands and knees. Literally. You’re not in a fit state to go, ‘I must preserve that data’,” she told Sky News in the summer.
TikTok: We remove rule-breaking content
In relation to the lawsuit against TikTok, the social media company said: “Our deepest sympathies remain with these families.
“We strictly prohibit content that promotes or encourages dangerous behaviour.
“Using robust detection systems and dedicated enforcement teams to proactively identify and remove this content, we remove 99% that’s found to break these rules before it is reported to us.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
