Mother wins fight to reopen inquest into son's 'death in TikTok challenge'

Published: 23:10, 16 July 2026 | Updated: 23:10, 16 July 2026 A mother suing TikTok over her teenage son's death said a decision to hold a landmark new inquest would help better protect children. Jools Sweeney, a 14-year-old from Gloucestershire, died in April 2022 and his parents believe social media played a role in his death – pointing to an 'online challenge gone wrong'. There are fears he may have been a victim of attempted 'sextortion', too. The fresh ruling overturned an inquiry held four years ago, which only lasted 23 minutes and heard no oral evidence. Jools's mother, Ellen Roome, challenged the narrative conclusion recorded in 2022, taking legal action against the senior coroner for Gloucestershire. Her lawyers told a hearing on Thursday that a 'number of lines of inquiry' had not been pursued. And, in the High Court in London, Lord Justice Warby and Ms Justice Heather Williams on Thursday quashed the original conclusion and ordered the inquest be reopened. Ms Roome said: 'Every bereaved family deserves to know that every possible avenue, including a child's digital life, has been properly investigated. We hope this is a turning point, not only in finding the truth about Jools, but in making the online world safer for every child. '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.' Ellen Roome with her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney, who died in April 2022. His parents believe social media played a role in his death Ellen Roome holding a photo of her son Jools Sweeney outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London Lord Justice Warby said a new inquest was desirable as it was 'clear there are various potential lines of inquiry' that had not previously been considered. Harry Lambert, for Ms Roome, said a 'considerable body of new evidence and a number of investigative insufficiencies' had come to light – 'in particular concerning the role of social media, TikTok specifically'. He also said that Jools had been contacted by a fraudulent Instagram account operated by an African crime gang shortly before his death, and that evidence from his phone found a 'possible attempt at extortion or 'sextortion'. Neither line of inquiry was pursued in the 2022 ruling. Ms Roome is one of five British parents separately suing TikTok in the US following the deaths of their children. Thursday's ruling came as Ofcom announced an investigation into the social media platform over potential failures in stopping children accessing harmful content. The watchdog has questioned whether the social media giant's age checks are fit for purpose. TikTok uses 'age inference', which examines a person's activity on the site to estimate their age. Kate Davies, Ofcom's group director for strategy and research, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: '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.' A TikTok spokesman said: 'We are confident that we meet our Online Safety Act obligations and will work with Ofcom to demonstrate this.'