Bereaved mother 'drained' by campaign to change law

Ellen Roome with her son Jools Sweeney, who was discovered unconscious in his bedroom in 2022

A bereaved mother said she is feeling "emotionally drained" from her ongoing campaign calling for tech companies to hand over data after a person dies.

Ellen Roome, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, has been fighting for a change in law since her 14-year-old son, Jools Sweeney, took his own life in April 2022. Ms Roome believes his death could have been linked to an online challenge gone wrong.

The amendment, called Jools' Law, would allow families to access user data from up to 12 months before the date of their loved one's death.

The Data (Use and Access) Bill was passed by MPs on Wednesday, but the change proposed by Ms Roome was not voted on.

Some social media companies told Ms Roome that they cannot release the data because of issues around privacy.

Others have said they would only do so if a court order was given.

Although Ms Roome was left feeling "frustrated" by the outcome on Wednesday, she said a change allowing coroners to request the data from social media companies is a "positive" step, providing it definitely happens.

Sir Chris Bryant, the Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms said the government will "do everything we possibly can" to ensure coroners understand their powers and duties outlined in the new bill.

He added that he hopes tech companies embrace the change too and understand that they need to "look after" families who have lost loved ones.

Ms Roome has been campaigning for a change in law for three years

Ms Roome said that Jools' social media is the one thing that was not investigated after his death.

"There was nothing offline when Jools died - there was no bullying, no mental health issues.

"We didn't look at a vital piece of evidence that could have given us answers."

Later this month, she has a meeting with the Home Office and the Minister of Justice who is in charge of the coronial system to discuss the new bill.

In the future, Ms Roome hopes that other grieving families will not be left in her situation.

"I'm three years down the line with my 14-year-old child who's no longer here, with no answers to understand why on earth he did what he did and that's very frustrating.

"I know of other parents going through the same situation right now and I look at them and think 'you are going to end up like me unless we change the system.'

"That's where it's fundamentally wrong, in my opinion," she said.