Bereaved mother condemns 'awful' Snapchat and Meta over 'refusal' to allow her access to her son's accounts after he killed himself in 'online challenge gone wrong'

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A grieving mother is taking on the world's biggest social media companies over fears her 14-year-old son killed himself in an 'online challenge' that went wrong.

Ellen Roome's world 'shattered' when she found her son, Jools Sweeney, unconscious in his bedroom in April 2022.

A coroner found that he took his own life, but that he probably did not intend to, as he was unable to confirm if he was in a suicidal mood before his death. 

Ms Roome, 48, is campaigning to access her son's social media accounts, across TikTok, Meta and Snapchat, as she believes it holds the answers as to why he took his own life. 

She said Jools did a 'lot of online challenges' and fears he fell victim to a 'dark and dangerous' one such as Blackout, a viral trend where children film themselves holding their breath until they fall unconscious, which is linked to the deaths of dozens of young people.

Ms Roome has since been campaigning for 'Jools' Law' - which would allow parents to access the social media accounts of their children if they died.

The petition, which gained 126,000 signatures, was debated in Parliament on Monday. She said having access to his social media could provide the evidence needed to explain his death.

Ms Roome is raising money for legal fees as she has been told by her lawyer it will cost up to £86,000 to take on the social media companies in court. 

Ellen Roome's world 'shattered' when her son, Jools Sweeney, died suddenly aged 14 in April 2022. Pictured: Ellen and Jools

Jools (pictured) was found dead in his bedroom after taking his own life but a coroner was unable to confirm if he was in a suicidal mood before his death

Jools is pictured with his mother Ellen and his father Matt before his sudden death aged 14

'This might answer why Jools is no longer alive and perhaps help make a landmark case, which in turn could help other bereaved parents,' she said.

Without full access to his social media data, the mother from Cheltenham, Gloucester, has no way of knowing what happened to her teenage child in the day of his death.

Ms Roome said: 'He was massive on social media. He did a lot of online challenges.

'Harmless challenges that I thought was just fun and I wasn't aware of some dangerous dark challenges that are on social media.

'If we had access to it [data] we would have had answers to why a 14-year-old decided to end his life.

'It is horrific - to lose a child and not understand why he decided to end his life is terrible.'

She added: 'He was a happy child, always laughing, always smiling with plenty of friends. Over 500 people went to his funeral - there wasn't anybody in his life that had concerns about him.

'When it happened it was completely out of the blue. I had spoken to him one hour and a half before it happened.'

Since Jools tragic death, Ms Roome's mission has been to understand the circumstances that led to her son's death.

Ms Roome has since been campaigning for 'Jools' Law' - which would allow parents to access the social media accounts of their children if they died. Pictured: Jools with his mother Ellen

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She fears he may have accessed some of the viral and dangerous challenges such as Blackout.

Ms Roome said she has spent thousands in legal fees trying to get data from Jools' accounts - however without any success.

She stated how she had meetings with TikTok and exchanged emails with Meta and Snapchat - but without a court order she said they can't provide her information.

Asked how companies have acted after her requests for data, she said: 'Awfully. They don't seem to care.

'TikTok refused to give any access without court order. Meta released some things but no messages or browsing data.

'Snapchat wouldn't tell me if they can release deleted messages and wouldn't give me anything further without court order.'

TikTok explained that it no longer has watch or search history for Jools, because the law requires companies to delete people's personal data unless it is needed for running a business.

The company said there are exceptions to this law, such as if police request for data to be preserved, however it said it was not contacted by officers until 2024 when the information was no longer available.

TikTok said it was not trying to prevent Ellen from getting answers.

Snapchat has enabled Ms Roome to access the messages still visible in her son's account.

Ms Roome, 48, is campaigning to access her son's social media accounts, across TikTok , Meta and Snapchat , as she believes it holds the answers as to why he took his own life. Pictured: Ellen and Jools

But deleted messages get deleted from the company's servers and are no longer available, with Snapchat willing to cooperate with any requests from authorities for additional data to the fullest extent possible.

Ms Roome said she did not want any other parents to go through the same thing.

'It's never gonna bring my son again so it's never gonna make me happy,' she said.

'I have spent a lot of money - it is expensive and I'm just a normal person who desperately wants answers to why my child isn't here.'

A petition to have the issue debated in Parliament has surpassed 126,000 signatures.

Asking how the debate went in Parliament, Ms Roome said: 'I couldn't have asked for a better result - it was amazing.

'It was very emotional. Sitting with the bereaved parents that all want answers and every single MP agreed with my petition and afterwards the minister spoke to me to hopefully amending the data bill to include my provisions requested to provide us access to social media.

Ms Roome has also set up a fundraising page to support them with the legal fees.

'I am determined to continue this fight for transparency and safety in the digital space so no other family has to endure the pain we have suffered,' she concluded.

Meta has been approached for a comment.