Summary
Social media giants Meta and Snapchat have been named as “interested persons” in the resumed inquest of a 14-year-old boy who died in what his mother believes was an online challenge gone wrong. Jools Sweeney died in April 2022 in hospital, having been found unresponsive at home in Cheltenham.
Details
The original inquest, which lasted 23 minutes, recorded a narrative conclusion, but the High Court quashed that finding and ordered a new hearing. Senior judges previously heard that new evidence had come to light concerning the role of social media in Jools’ death.
A “number of lines of inquiry” had not been pursued, including that he had been contacted by a fraudulent Instagram account operated by an African crime gang shortly before his death, and that evidence from his phone found a “possible attempt at extortion or ‘sextortion'”.
A pre-inquest review at Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court heard that tech companies Meta, which owns Instagram, and Snapchat would be joining TikTok, which is already an interested person in the proceedings. Also listed were Gloucestershire Police and the South West Ambulance Service Trust, and Jools’ family.
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It gives them the right to participate in the inquest and be legally represented, although they do not have to attend or give evidence.
Senior Coroner Katy Skerrett said the scope of the inquest would include evidence from April 2022 of what the teenager had said to other people, what he may have posted on social media, and his interactions online with someone known as “John Smitt” and an organised African crime gang.
The coroner told the hearing that, under the 2023 Online Safety Act, she had issued data preservation notices to Ofcom requesting retained data from relevant social media companies relating to Jools. The court heard a resumed inquest is likely to take place next year and last up to a week.
Speaking afterwards, Jools’s mother, Ellen Roome , said she was pleased lawyers representing TikTok had agreed to provide relevant data in an accessible format. “I’m quite pleased with how it went,” she said. “The coroner certainly sounds like she’s trying to do it this time the right way.
