Overview
- High Court judges quashed the 2022 inquest conclusion on Thursday and ordered a new inquest after finding that newly available material and investigative failings justified further scrutiny.
- Ellen Roome’s lawyers told the court that TikTok data showing possible overuse and phone records pointing to contact from a fraudulent Instagram account linked to a suspected extortion attempt were not examined in 2022.
- Ofcom has opened a probe into TikTok’s age‑assurance and child-safety methods, and ministers have advanced a ‘Jools’ Law’ amendment to force social platforms to preserve and make deceased children’s data accessible to parents.
- ITV has commissioned a drama about Roome’s campaign and the wider issue of children online; Roome will act as a consultant and was recently awarded an MBE for her work on online safety.
- The ordered re‑inquest could change how police and coroners gather digital evidence after a child’s death, affect ongoing civil cases against TikTok in the United States, and set a new standard for examining online harms to children.