[ad_1]
A bereaved mother who has “absolutely no idea” why her son took his own life aged 14 is fighting social media companies to hand over his search history.
Jools Sweeney was found dead in April 2022. A coroner was unable to rule his death was a suicide as they were unable to prove he was in a “suicidal mood”, his mother Ellen Roome tells Sky News.
Ms Roome says he showed no signs of depression and police have ruled out any third-party involvement.
As a result, she says she has been left with “absolutely no idea why he isn’t here anymore”.
Having read about other teenagers taking their lives after viewing harmful content online, Ms Roome asked various social media companies for her son’s browsing history to shed light on why he died.
But she says: “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.”
Read more from Sky News
Why big money might swing digital election
Concerns over Microsoft automatic screenshot feature
Scarlett Johansson shocked at AI voice recreation
She launched a petition to have the issue debated in parliament. But in light of the general election on 4 July, all parliamentary petitions will be automatically closed on 30 May.
This leaves her with just days to reach her 100,000-signature target.
She tells Sky News: “It’s very ambitious but I need 85,000 signatures to hit my target which might give me access to Jools’s information to find out why he died.”
Asked about the impact of her son’s unexpected death, she adds: “It’s impossibly hard, it’s horrific, it consumes me.
“I have to try the only thing we haven’t tried and…
[ad_2]
