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Mother sues TikTok over son's death in 'blackout challenge'
Ellen Roome, a 49-year-old mother from Gloucestershire, has called the first U.S. court hearing in her lawsuit against TikTok a "deeply painful" experience. Roome is among a group of parents seeking justice after their children died attempting an online challenge.
Background of the case
Roome's 14-year-old son, Julian "Jools" Sweeney, died in Cheltenham in 2022. A coroner ruled out suicide, but Roome believes her son's death resulted from an online challenge gone wrong. Since then, she has campaigned for Jools' Law, which would grant parents access to their deceased child's social media data without a court order.
She also advocates for broader reforms to improve child safety on social media platforms.
Lawsuit details and allegations
The lawsuit, filed by the Social Media Victims Law Centre in Delaware's Superior Court, links the deaths of five children-Jools, Isaac Kenevan (13), Archie Battersbee (12), Noah Gibson (11), and Maia Walsh (13)-to the "blackout challenge," a dangerous online trend.
The parents allege that TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, designed its platform to maximize user engagement through addictive algorithms, making such tragedies a "foreseeable result."
Courtroom emotions and legal arguments
In a social media post on Friday, Roome described the hearing as emotionally grueling. "For the court, this is about motions and procedures. For us, it is about our children. Our dead children," she wrote.
She added that listening to legal arguments while grappling with their loss was "deeply painful" but emphasized their determination to seek truth and protect other children.
"Whatever the outcome, we showed up. We spoke for our children. And we will keep going."
Ellen Roome
TikTok's response and legal stance
A TikTok spokesperson expressed the company's "deepest sympathies" to the families but maintained that content promoting dangerous behavior is strictly prohibited on the platform. The company has filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that U.S. law shields platforms from liability for third-party content and that the plaintiffs, as UK residents, are suing U.S. entities that do not operate TikTok's services in the UK.
The spokesperson also stated that TikTok complies with the UK's data protection laws. It is understood that the "blackout challenge" has been blocked on the platform since 2020.
Next steps in the legal process
Roome and the other parents now await the judge's decision on whether the case will be dismissed or proceed to the discovery phase, where evidence will be gathered and examined.
