Mum of Cheltenham teenager files lawsuit against TikTok

The mum of a Cheltenham teenager is among a group of parents taking legal action against Tiktok.

Ellen Roome wants answers following the death of her son Jools - she believes he may have taken part in an online challenge which went wrong.

The 14 year old died at home in April 2022.

He was found unconscious and an inquest found he took his own life.

Ellen is one of 4 UK mums who believe their children's deaths could be linked to an online challenge.

They've filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the social media site - and its parent company Byte Dance inc.

Solicitors for the bereaved families claim the algorithm used meant children may be able to view potentially dangerous content.

She says the loss of her son has been absolutely devastating. She said: "You always have an underlying sadness and some days are worse than others.

"We were waiting for the news that it (the lawsuit) had been served yesterday - we have a group chat and one of the parents was saying they were crying because this could give us the answers we've been crying out for.

"There's this underlying sadness that we're doing this because out children have died and that is hard.

"We're balancing a whole wave of emotion from 'yes we're really pleased' on one had but that our children are no longer here."

Ellen says to have the other families has been a real support to her. She said: "To have other people that understand - that have the same range of emotions.

"When one of us says we're having a particularly bad day today, I can't stop crying - you can be instantly transported to the day your child died and you are debilitated".

TikTok tell us it doesn't allow content that shows or promotes dangerous behaviour.

A spokesperson added the platform proactively finds 99% of content - removed for breaking these rules - before it is reported to them and that the safety of people on our platform, particularly teens, is a priority with $2bn invested in safeguarding the platform this year.