‘Just take it away’: Mother of teenager who died after alleged TikTok challenge urges UK government to ban social media

The mother of a British teenager who allegedly 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 “stalling about it”.Ellen Roem, whose 14-year-old son Jules Sweeney died in 2022, is among a group of bereaved parents set to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday, as a national consultation on a potential social media ban for children under 16 draws to a close.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Roem urged the government to take tough action immediately.“Come on, take control, let’s stand up, do something, make a decision,” she said, according to The Guardian.“I don’t care if they take it for adults and children until it’s safe, just take it and fix it, and then we can bring it back.”

“Make platforms safe first.”

Roem argued that tech companies should be forced to prioritize children’s safety over engagement-based algorithms and addictive platform design.“They spend millions and billions of pounds making their system,” she said, as quoted in The Guardian. “They can spend some money actually fixing their system and say this is now a safe product.”

The UK government is currently considering measures similar to those introduced in Australia, where access to social media has been restricted for under-16s.Proposals under discussion are said to include age limits for live streaming, location sharing and infinite scrolling, as well as limits on personal algorithms and mandatory screen curfews.

Wes Streeting compares social media to tobacco

Former British health minister Wes Streeting also supported stricter regulation, comparing social media platforms to the tobacco industry in comments to The Guardian.Speaking to the BBC programme, Streeting accused technology companies of deliberately designing products that are addictive to children.“They know that it is harmful, and that the business model is geared towards having children when they are young,” he said, according to The Guardian.He added that there is growing evidence linking excessive social media use to poor sleep, decreased concentration, mental health concerns and poorer well-being among children.Streeting also claimed he had repeatedly pushed for stronger regulation while serving in government, saying he could now speak more openly after leaving Cabinet.

TikTok sued in US court

Roome also joined legal action against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance in the US. The lawsuit, filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center in Delaware, alleges that several British children, including Jules Sweeney, Archie Battisby, Isaac Kenevan, Noah Gibson and Maya Walsh, died while attempting the so-called “blackout challenge,” which encourages users to strangle themselves until they lose consciousness.Families are seeking access to platform data that they believe can reveal what content children were exposed to before their deaths.Speaking earlier from the US, Romm wondered why social media companies were reluctant to hand over information.“Algorithms are feeding our children harmful materials, and we want to see what they have actually been watching,” she said.She added that the campaign was about “accountability” and ensuring that tech companies “take responsibility for the harm that occurs on their platforms.”

TikTok denies any wrongdoing

TikTok has asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, arguing that the US entities being sued do not operate the platform in the UK and that US freedom of expression protections protect the company from liability for third-party content.A TikTok spokesperson expressed sympathy for the families while defending the platform’s moderation systems.“We strongly prohibit content that promotes or encourages dangerous behavior,” the company said, adding that 99% of harmful content that violates its rules is removed before it is reported.The company also said that the alleged “blackout challenge” has been banned on the platform since 2020.

Lobbying for “Jules’ Law”

Since her son’s death, Roem 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 needing a court order.She reportedly sold her finance business, which she ran for nearly two decades, to focus on the campaign full-time.