Jools Law
I’m Ellen Roome, Jools' Mum and now a campaigner. ​I am fighting for transparency and safety in the digital space so no other family has to endure the pain we have suffered.
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My life changed forever on April 13, 2022, when my 14-year-old son, Jools Sweeney, took his own life. His sudden death left me searching for answers. Nothing was found offline as to why he might have taken the actions he did. The Coroner said that he couldn't be certain Jools was in a suicidal mood, and so it's a narrative description on his death certificate of how he died.
​I was left with no answers as to why, and as Jools' social media data was not fully examined during his inquest, I approached them directly for answers—none of the social media companies would allow me access to his browsing data.
Jools' social media accounts could have provided vital insights into his actions and whether an online challenge or other harmful interactions influenced him. However, I have faced significant hurdles, as current laws require a court order to access my son's digital data.
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​As a parent, you have NO legal right to view what your children have seen online.
My next steps for access to Jools' data is via the High Court.
You can read below about my journey through Parliament pushing for changes to access to social media data for children who have died, but the new Data Bill will not help me as Jools' inquest was closed. I now have NO other option but to apply to the Attorney General to ask permission to apply to the High Court for a fresh inquest so that we can use the Data Bill and see if social media companies haven't deleted Jools' data and IF there are answers as to why my son ended his life.
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Timeline of events to The High Court (last updated 26th June 2025)
26th June 2025 - I have written to the following people to ask them to support an application to the Attorney General for a new inquest for Jools.
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Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice,
Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP - Minister of State for Policing and Crime Prevention
Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, Secretary of State, Department for Science, Innovation &Technology
Baroness Maggie Jones - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Science, Innovation &Technology
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6th June 2025 - The Coroner has returned documents. I now need to obtain statements from Jools' friends
27th May 2025 - I have written to the coroner.
After Jools ' inquest, I only received the final inquest pack, and Lawyers have told me I should have received other documents. I have asked to obtain records from the coroner.​
Jools' inquest file has been archived, so I'm waiting for that to come back. Ideally, I would like the Coroner to support my application for a fresh inquest.
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Once I have this, I have to apply to the Attorney General (AG) for permission to apply to the High Court for a fresh inquest. If agreed upon, the AG will grant a FIAT, which gives me six weeks to apply to the High Court. ​
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My Parliament Campaign
As a result of not being able to access my son's social media accounts - despite him being a minor when he died, and therefore under my parental responsibility - I felt compelled to launch a campaign for "Jools' Law," which seeks to grant parents the right to access their deceased children's social media accounts without needing a court order.
27th April 2024 - I set up a government petition
#Joolslaw - Parents to have full access to their children's social media. I want parents/guardians to have the full right to see their children's social media accounts when either the child is alive or deceased. My son Jools was 14 when he took his life in 2022. At the time, the new Coroner's powers to request social media were not in force. However, I also think this is too late. Since my son's death, I have not been able to access information to see what my son was looking at that could have contributed to him taking his own life. Parents should have the right to full access to their child's social media accounts either whilst they are still alive (to protect them) or if they die as in my case.
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I was contacted by Grace Carter from Aphra (https://www.weareaphra.co.uk/) , whom I didn't know until she reached out and offered to help create a video to ask for signatures. The video is below.
24th May 2024 - Jools' story
21st May 2024 - Due to the Government election, the Government was set to close ALL petitions early on 30th May. I had 9 days to get to 100,000 signatures. It was my birthday, so I asked on social media for one birthday wish: “Everyone, please sign and share my petition"
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Grace told me we needed another video to push for signatures, I didn't want to fail, so she made this..​​
28th May 2024—We reached 100,000 signatures. I was on a train to London and felt like crying out of joy.
Wow—thank you, everyone.
30th May 2024 - The petition closed with an impressive total of 126,033 signatures.
17th July 2024 – During the King's Speech, part of the State Opening of Parliament, it was announced that the Data (Use and Access) Bill would be reintroduced. This bill had previously been dropped mainly due to political disagreements, concerns over its scope, or the prioritisation of other legislative measures.
13th Jan 2025 - My petition was discussed in Parliament, where MPs concurred that parents should have the right to seek answers using social media data when a child has died. I was then offered a meeting with the ministers and awaited their response. You can watch the debate here…
I attended numerous parliamentary meetings, some of which included representatives from social media companies. I pleaded with these companies to release Jools’ data as well as data for other bereaved parents who were there with me. They refused.
I urged ministers to consider amending the Data Bill; I proposed a simple yet effective amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill in Parliament. Under the Data Bill, the coroner will now be able to demand that social media companies preserve and release data, but only if the police or the coroner requests it.
Like many other parents I know, they never took the initiative to preserve and request our children's data. I wanted it to become compulsory, like a toxicology or post-mortem report is requested when a child dies. I wanted social media data automatically preserved and requested for the inquest. The parent could then access this data as a person of interest in the child’s death. Most importantly, it could assist the inquest in determining what happened to the child, whether it was bullying, grooming, sextortion, or an online challenge. It's crucial that this data is preserved and requested immediately. The Data Bill is in the final stages of passing through Parliament, and while it will not be compulsory to preserve and request data, there will be a law that, if enacted, will grant the coroner the right to request this data.
15th May 2025 – I met with Minister Jones (Department of Science and Technology), Minister Johnson (Home Office), and Minister Davies-Jones (Minister of Justice) to discuss further. I stressed the need for training for Police and Coroners to make sure the potential use of the Data Bill is cascaded down through the system to ensure that no other bereaved parent is left in my position of not having all data reviewed, which could help explain why a child has ended their life.
