Jools Sweeney with mom Ellen Roome and dad Matt Sweeney. Photo released January 13, 2025. (SWNS)
By Filipa Gaspar
A mom has welcomed a decision to name Meta and Snapchat as “interested persons” in an inquest into her son - she believes died from an online challenge gone wrong.
Ellen Roome MBE has long campaigned for access to data over the loss of Jools Sweeney, 14.
Jools, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, died in April 2022 and his mom fears he was the victim of a “dark and dangerous” online challenge.
The original inquest which lasted 23 minutes recorded a narrative conclusion but was quashed by the High Court.
A second pre-inquest review has now named social media giants Meta and Snapchat as “interested persons”.
It heard Instagram owner Meta and Snapchat would be joining TikTok, which is already an interested person in the proceedings and has agreed to release information.
The decision means the tech giants have the right to participate in the inquest and be legally represented.
Ellen Roome believes her son Jools Sweeney died after an online challenge went wrong - and having access to his social media could provide the evidence needed to prove his death. (SWNS)
Now 15 social media and gaming platforms have been asked to provide data. They do not have to attend or give evidence.
Roome, who successfully campaigned for the introduction of “Jools Law”, said she hoped they would all “fully cooperate.”
In a statement, she said: “Yesterday was another important step in our fight to understand what happened to our son, Jools.
“The coronial process can feel incredibly cold when people are discussing your little boy in clinical and legal terms.
“For everyone else, it is a legal process. For Matt and me, it is about our son, who was just 14 years old.
“We welcome the news that Meta and Snap have now joined TikTok as interested persons in Jools’ new inquest.
Jools and his family. (SWNS)
“We hope all three companies will fully cooperate and provide the information needed to help establish what happened.
“The Coroner has also asked Ofcom to preserve data held by 15 social media and gaming platforms.”
The hearing follows the introduction of Jools Law in April 2026, which was brought in after years of campaigning by Roome.
The law requires tech companies to preserve a deceased child’s data within five days of a request, something Roome said should prevent other families from facing the same obstacles she encountered.
She added: “We don’t just want to know who Jools was speaking to online.
“We need to understand what he was seeing, what content was being recommended to him, how algorithms influenced his online experience and whether anything he encountered could help explain his death.
(SWNS)
“TikTok indicated that it would provide data, but questions remain about exactly what information will be disclosed and who will examine it.
“I’ve already been advised that specialist forensic analysis could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
“How can it be right that bereaved parents might have to fund this themselves simply to understand what happened to their child?
“After more than four and a half years, we are finally making progress, but we still don’t have the answers we have fought so hard for.
“We now have to put our faith in the coronial process and hope that every possible avenue is explored.
“Matt and I deserve answers, and we are not giving up.”
The court heard a resumed inquest is likely to take place in spring 2027 and last up to a week.
Senior Coroner Katy Skerrett said the new inquest would look at the medical cause of Jools’ death, emergency response and his social media and online activity.