VICTORY FOR JOOLS IS

Social media giants will have to keep data But PM urged to act fast to protect children

- BY SOPHIE HUSKISSON Political Correspondent

ELLEN Roome wept when she heard social media giants will finally have to preserve the data of children who have died - something she has been fighting for since 2022.

The grieving mum has been campaigning for a change in the law since losing her son, Jools, aged 14, allegedly while doing a so-called "blackout challenge" on TikTok.

Now she is calling for more protection to stop others suffering the same terrible fate - including a total ban on social media for children under 16.

Ellen was in Los Angeles last week for a landmark trial over the mental health effects of Instagram and YouTube when the call from Technology Secretary Liz Kendall came through at 4am.

She said: "I burst into tears. I have fought tirelessly to try and get this law through so I'm delighted that they're actually going to do it.

"I just never gave up. I always wanted to make something positive out of the loss of Jools's life and I have done that.

"I have spoken over and over and over on the subject to anybody who will listen to me. I've taken it to America.

ADDICTIVE

"It's been in all the Australian newspapers. People in Africa have seen it. It's gone right around the world."

The change in the law has come too late to give Ellen the answers she craves about how Jools died, as it will only apply to new cases.

But she added: "This law won't help me but it will help other bereaved parents. Ultimately we need to stop children from dying in the first place, which means we need to do more with social media harms."

Now she wants ministers to show greater urgency to stop kids being harmed in the first place.