Exclusive:Archie Battersbee: mum worried new law will stop her finding out TikToks 12-year-old watched before his death

This is Hollie Dance’s second Christmas without her son Archie Battersbee, and as we speak she’s putting up his favourite decorations. “It was Archie’s favourite time of year,” she tells me. “He would want me to put these up so I’m doing that now, but as far as celebrating Christmas, never again.”

Archie, 12, was left with devastating brain damage in April 2022 after some sort of strangulation prank or experiment went wrong, an inquest found. He watched TikTok for seven minutes before his death - the contents of which remain unknown. Senior Coroner for Essex, Lincoln Brookes, said he could not "rule out the possibility" that Archie had taken part in an online challenge, but police hadn't found any evidence he had. Following a long-running legal battle, the High Court ruled his life support should be switched off on 6 August 2022. 

And if this Christmas wasn’t going to be hard enough already for mum Hollie, she’s been pulled back into a political row that she thought had been settled. The 48-year-old and other parents, whose children’s deaths were linked to social media and gaming, have formed a group called the Bereaved Families for Online Safety. During the Online Safety Act, they fought for a change in law to give coroners the right to access youngsters’ data where it could be relevant in their death.

At the time it was passed, in September, the Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan described it as a “game-changing piece of legislation” and thanked “the tireless campaigning and efforts of parliamentarians, survivors of abuse and charities who have all worked relentlessly to get this bill to the finish line”.

Now, three months later, the bereaved families say the government wants to water this down by making an amendment to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which limits these powers to cases where a coroner suspects a child has taken their own life. Hollie, who wants to have a second inquest to try and get access to TikTok’s data to see what Archie watched, believes this will push her son’s death out of the scope of the legislation. 

“For me it’s a huge thing because although Archie’s [death] went down as a prank gone wrong, I don’t know whether social media has played a part in that, because I don’t know what Archie watched that day … it could be crucial,” she tells NationalWorld.

“It [Archie’s death] may have nothing to do with TikTok whatsoever, but it would be nice to have one less question going round and round in my head. I’m not out to blame anybody, I’m not out to sue anybody - I’m out to protect children and get answers. I need to know for my own sake what Archie watched that day. He watched seven minutes of TikTok and nobody can tell me what he watched.”

Hollie and the other bereaved families, which include Molly Russell’s father Ian, have written a letter to Rishi Sunak, accusing the Prime Minister of betraying them. The government says that even with the change in law, it believes the right powers will be in place for coroners and the police. 

However Hollie, from Southend, Essex, says the move is “callous”. “They’ve come across like they’re going to do something, like our children’s deaths matter and they count, almost to sweep that carpet from back under you. Please imagine for five minutes if this was your child, would you want the answers?”

Hollie says Archie was “talented, funny and so quick with his banter”. “I feel so blessed that God picked me to be that little boy’s mum,” she tells me. “I haven’t even begun to start grieving because I’ve got too many things I’m fighting over. But one day it would be nice if I could finally get justice and answers, and be able to grieve for my little boy.”

Lisa Kenevan, another parent in the Bereaved Families for Online Safety, is also still seeking closure over her son Isaac’s death. The 13-year-old died in March 2022, not far from Archie, in Basildon, Essex, after likely taking part in a choke challenge that had become popular on social media. She says Isaac was “cheeky, happy, very loving … a typical beautiful boy, he had the best personality”. 

Police found two videos on Isaac’s phone showing him acting out the challenge. However they didn’t look any further back or explore the content he may have watched on TikTok or Snapchat in the lead up to his death.

“When you’ve been given that information, part of you thinks that door has closed and you can move on to grieve,” Lisa, 51, tells me. “But once you’ve processed it you think, hang on a minute, he didn’t just decide to put his hands around his throat, he’s been influenced somewhere down the line.”

The coroner at Isaac’s inquest said that he was likely influenced by another child or viewing the challenge on social media. Lisa, who was so delighted with the Online Safety Act that she kept the full text of the bill in her house, wants to find out what he watched. Yet she says the government’s potential new law “pulled the rug under our feet”. “I thought it was very disrespectful really,” she tells me.

“Any child’s death that is suspiciously linked to any social media platform, even an inkling, should be investigated and be explored through the accessibility of data,” she says. “For parents that have gone through this, and unfortunately parents are going to be going through this, they need assistance, they need help and they have every right to request for that data. It shouldn’t have to be one type of child’s death against another.

“It’s hard enough as it is, we should have people coming to us and giving us help and support. When you lose a child to matters such as this you feel very low, very isolated and you don’t know where to turn.”

In the Data Bill's second reading in the House of Lords on Tuesday (19 December), Baroness Beeban Kidron, who helps support the families as chair of the 5Rights Foundation, accused the government of lacking "compassion". She told Parliament: "Expert legal advice says that there are multiple scenarios under which the government’s narrowing scope creates a gaping hole in provision for families of murdered children and has introduced uncertainty and delay in cases where it may not be clear how a child died at the outset."

"Given the numbers, narrowing scope is unnecessary, disproportionate and egregiously inhumane," Baroness Kidron added. "This is about parents of murdered children. The Government lack compassion. They have created legal uncertainty and betrayed and re-traumatised a vulnerable group to whom they made promises." Viscount Camrose, Parliamentary Under Secretary in DSIT, claimed that the bill would cover cases such as Archie and Isaac's deaths as it includes "tragic circumstances where a child dies accidentally when attempting to recreate an online challenge".

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology told NationalWorld that the Data Bill amendment requires social media platforms to hold data about a child where it appears they may have taken their own life. It said that this would include if a child had taken their own life after interacting with self-harm or other harmful content online, or if coroners suspect a child may have been subjected to coercion, online bullying or harassment.

A government spokesperson said: “We know how important this is for families going through the most tragic circumstances. The Online Safety Act ensures information about any child who has died can be collected from social media platforms for coroner investigations, this is not changing.

“To make sure this works effectively, the changes we are making through the Data Protection Bill will ensure social media platforms keep the data coroners need where a child has taken their life, no matter what the circumstance. This kind of data can already be retained and shared for police investigations where a serious crime like murder is committed, thanks to established police powers, but we continue to work with families to ensure we get this right."

While a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister told NationalWorld: “First and foremost the PM’s sympathies are with all the families affected by this. The Online Act Safety Act included provisions to address a specific issue in coroners not being able to access this information. 

“It remains the case that where there have been serious crimes such as a murder the police already have existing powers to make sure that they can receive this information for their investigation. Our understanding is that we have the right existing powers in place, and the Online Safety Act was to address the existing loophole. But we will continue to monitor this and make sure the existing processes are working as they should.” 

It is understood that Secretary of State Michelle Donelan wants to meet with the bereaved families. NationalWorld has contacted TikTok for comment.

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

You can also contact:

• NSPCC
• Shout
• If you’re worried about an individual call 999

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.