Key facts
- A new inquest has been ordered into the death of 14-year-old Jools Sweeney, who died in April 2022.
- The High Court ruled that previously omitted social media evidence must be examined.
- The original inquest did not consider social media evidence, which was unavailable at the time.
- Jools' mother, Ellen Roome, commissioned a private forensic analysis of his phone, uncovering crucial data.
- The ruling is considered a landmark for its reliance on social media evidence in overturning a previous inquest.
- Roome successfully campaigned for "Jools’ Law," mandating tech companies to preserve child data post-mortem.
The High Court has ordered a new inquest into the death of 14-year-old Jools Sweeney, who died in April 2022. His parents, Ellen Roome and Matt Sweeney, believe the popular TikTok "blackout challenge" contributed to his death. The original inquest, which lasted only 23 minutes and did not examine social media evidence, has been overturned.
Lord Justice Warby and Mrs Justice Heather Williams ruled that a fresh inquest is necessary to consider previously omitted social media evidence. Roome had commissioned a private forensic analysis of her son's phone, revealing data that her barrister, Harry Lambert, described as "highly probative of overuse or addiction."
Roome stated, "For more than four years, we have fought every single day for the truth about what happened to our beautiful son Jools." She added that the legal system has now recognized that questions deserve answers. This ruling is believed to be the first in England and Wales where the lack of social media evidence was a primary ground for overturning a previous inquest.
TikTok, represented by Antony Jones, did not oppose the proposal for a new inquest, acknowledging the need for change. Gary Miller, a partner at Mishcon de Reya LLP, highlighted that current investigative processes are not adequately equipped for the digital lives of young people. Roome, along with four other bereaved parents, is also pursuing a separate lawsuit against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, in Delaware, United States.
Furthermore, Roome successfully campaigned for "Jools’ Law," which mandates tech companies to automatically preserve a child's online and social media data within five days of their death. This law was incorporated into the Crime and Policing Act on April 29, 2026.