Bereaved parents demand social media firms ‘protect children’

A group of British parents who believe social media played a part in the death of their children have travelled to the US to demand better online safety protections for children.

Four families flew to New York City to take part in a protest with hundreds of other parents outside the offices of Meta – owner of Facebook and Instagram.

“All we’re asking for is can you please help us protect our children,” said Mark Kenevan, father of Isaac who died aged 13 from taking part in a social media challenge.

Their visit comes as media regulator Ofcom announced that websites will be legally required to block children’s access to harmful content from July to continue operating in the UK.

Websites will also have to introduce more rigorous age checks, according to its final children’s code of practice published on Thursday.

BBC Breakfast followed the four British families on their mission in the US.

Lisa Kenevan, mother of Isaac, said the families banding together had given each other strength.

“We just want government, we want tech companies to understand that we are getting stronger, our voices are getting stronger, and we’re not going to go away,” she said.

A coroner ruled that Isaac had died in 2022 as a result of misadventure, but the Kenevans say social media platforms were also to blame.

This year they were among several families who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against TikTok in the US, which accuses the platform of pushing dangerous prank and challenge videos to children to boost engagement time.

Maia Walsh’s family, who are part of the lawsuit, also believe the 13-year-old died from injuries while taking part in an online challenge. An inquest into her death will examine her use of TikTok.

Her father Liam Walsh, talking about the New York protest, told BBC Breakfast: “I feel as though we’re getting recognition for what happened to our children, because there is something in it – it’s not just desperate parents clutching at straws.

“We’re slowly revealing what happened to our children, and this is part of that movement.”

TikTok says it prohibits dangerous content or challenges on the platform, and directs those who search for hashtags or videos to its safety centre.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, says it also shares the goal of keeping teens safe online and had recently introduced “teen accounts” with enhanced protections.

“We believe teens deserve consistent protections across all the different apps they use – not just our platforms,” Meta said in a statement.

Also among the parents in New York is Ellen Roome, who believes her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died after an online challenge went wrong in 2022 and his social media accounts could provide the evidence needed. An inquest into his death found he took his own life.

“[He was] just a normal, lovely boy. Not one moment in our life did we think we would be in this position… there was nothing that gave us any indication that there was a problem,” Ms Roome said, who is campaigning for legislation to grant parents access to their children’s social media accounts if they die.

“I almost want to tell parents ‘you don’t know what your children are looking at’.

“This isn’t for our children because it’s too late, but for them to have that conversation with their children about what are they looking at, what are they seeing.”

The BBC previously approached TikTok, X, Snapchat, Discord and Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads – to ask about Ms Roome’s case.

None of them gave a formal response, but a spokesperson from Snapchat previously said: “Our hearts go out to Ms Roome and her family for the loss of Jools.

“We have extra protections for under 18s and offer parental tools so parents can see who their teens are communicating with and report any concerns.”

A spokesperson for TikTok has also previously said the company had removed 99% of videos showing or promoting dangerous content before it was reported by a user.

Also among the parents in New York was Lorin LaFave, mother of 14-year-old Breck Bednar who was lured to his death in 2014 after being groomed online whilst gaming.

The online safety campaigner, who now shares Breck’s story in schools through the Breck Foundation, said: “I would love to see age restrictions. For me I think children need their childhood longer.

“They’re being exposed to so much adult content and adult relationships too soon, too young, and you’re only a child once.”

On Wednesday night Ms Roome and Mrs Kenevan also met with some grieving American families, who they will join forces with to protest against the tech industry and to campaign for a safer online world.