Glos mum suing TikTok after son's death says it's 'about accountability'
Ellen Roome from Gloucestershire, has been campaigning since her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died
A mother who is among five British parents suing TikTok after the deaths of their children has said the case is about accountability.
Ellen Roome, 49, from Gloucestershire, has been campaigning since her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died at home in Cheltenham in 2022.
She is in America for the first day of the hearing, in Delaware, which has been filed by the Social Media Victims Law Centre against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance.
The case alleges Jools, Isaac Kenevan, 13, Archie Battersbee, 12, Noah Gibson, 11, and Maia Walsh, 13, died while attempting an online challenge.
Ms Roome said: "This is about accountability.
"We are in Delaware to make sure social media companies are held responsible for the harm caused on their platforms.
"What happens online does not stay online. The impact is real, and for too many families, devastating.
"This is not about banning the internet. It is about stopping platforms being addictive by design, exposing children to harm, and avoiding responsibility when the worst happens.
"Children deserve protection. Parents deserve answers. And tech companies must be held to account.
"We are here to make sure other children are safer."
Ms Roome sold the financial business she had run for 18 years to campaign for Jools' Law, a right for parents to access their deceased child's data without a court order.
She is also pushing for wider changes to social media to improve the safety of children online.
Since her son's death, Ms Roome has been trying to obtain data from TikTok and ByteDance which she believes could provide an explanation as to what happened.
TikTok has applied to dismiss the case, stating UK residents are suing US entities which do not operate or provide the social media firm's services in the UK.
It says established US law, such as the First Amendment, bars liability for third-party content on TikTok.
A spokesperson for TikTok 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.
"As a company, we comply with the UK's strict data protection laws."
It is understood the online challenge which the parents say is responsible for their children's deaths has been blocked on TikTok since 2020.
Matthew Bergman, of the Social Media Victims Law Centre, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that he believed legislation along with court cases and public opinion could protect more children from online harm.
"We see the public officials and judges and influence makers are really understanding the clear and present threat that social media poses to the mental and physically safety of our young people," he added.