The mother of a British teen who reportedly died after attempting a dangerous online challenge has criticized the UK government for moving too slowly on plans to restrict children’s access to social media, saying ministers are “kicking it down the road”.Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son Jules Sweeney died in 2022, is among a group of bereaved parents who are due to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday as a national consultation on a possible social media ban for children under 16 nears its conclusion.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Roome urged the government to take immediate tough action.“Come on, let’s get a grip, let’s actually stand up, do something, decide,” he said, according to The Guardian.“I don’t care if they take it to adults and children as long as it’s safe, just take it, fix it and then we can give it back.”
‘Make the platform secure first’
Roome argued that tech companies should be forced to prioritize child safety over engagement-driven algorithms and addictive platform design.“They spend millions and billions of pounds building their systems. They can actually spend some money fixing their systems and say it’s now a safe product,” he said, as quoted by The Guardian.The UK government is currently considering measures similar to those introduced in Australia, where access to social media has been restricted for those under 16.Proposals under discussion reportedly include age limits on livestreaming, location sharing and infinite scrolling, as well as restrictions on personalized algorithms and mandatory screen curfews.
Wes Streeting compared social media to tobacco
Former UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting also supported stricter regulation, comparing social media platforms to the tobacco industry in comments to The Guardian.Speaking on the BBC programme, Streeting accused tech companies of deliberately designing addictive products for children.“They know it’s harmful, and the business model is focused on having kids when they’re young,” he said, according to The Guardian.He said there is growing evidence linking excessive use of social media to poor sleep, poor concentration, mental health concerns and declining health among children.Streeting also claimed that while he had repeatedly pushed for stronger regulation while in government, he said he could now speak more openly after leaving cabinet.
TikTok case in US court
Roome has also joined legal action against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance in the United States. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware by the Social Media Victims Law Center, alleges that several British children, including Jules Sweeney, Archie Battersby, Isaac Kennevan, Noah Gibson and Maia Walsh, died while attempting the so-called “blackout challenge”, which encourages users to suffocate themselves until they lose consciousness.Families are demanding access to platform data they believe could reveal what content children were exposed to before their deaths.Speaking before America, Roome questioned why social media companies are reluctant to hand over information.“Algorithms provide harmful content to our children, and we wanted to see what they were actually seeing,” he said.He said the campaign was about “accountability” and ensuring that tech companies “are held accountable for the harm caused on their platforms”.
TikTok denies wrongdoing
TikTok has sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the US entities suing do not operate the platform in the UK and that US free speech protections shield the company from liability over third-party content.A spokesperson for TikTok expressed sympathy for the families while defending the platform’s moderation system.“We strictly prohibit content that promotes or encourages dangerous behavior,” the company said. The company said that 99% of harmful content that violates its rules is removed before it is reported.The company also said that the so-called “Blackout Challenge” has been blocked on the platform since 2020.
Pressure for ‘Jules’ Law’
Since her son’s death, Roome has become a prominent campaigner for “Jules’ Law” – a proposal aimed at giving parents the legal right to access their deceased child’s social media data without the need for a court order.He has reportedly sold the financial business he ran for nearly two decades to focus on campaigning full-time.