Mia Janin: Met Police to demand data from social media giants for inquest into schoolgirl’s suicide

Police attending a pre-inquest hearing for a schoolgirl’s suicide were asked by the coroner to request data from the social media sites which she had used prior to her death.

The hearing was being held for Mia Janin, 14, who is believed to have tragically taken her own life after being bullied on social media and at her school in north London, the Jewish Free School (JFS). She was found dead at her family home on 12 March 2021.

Previously, Mariano Janin, Mia’s father, urged the court to request access to his daughter’s social media accounts, arguing that it was important both in terms of understanding her state of mind and the “culture” of her school. He added that he believed Mia had seen “bullying” messages the night before her death - pointing to a voice message she had sent to her friend in which she said she was “mentally preparing herself to get bullied”.

The Met Police, who led the initial investigation into Mia’s tragic death, said it had previously requested information from companies such as Snapchat but had been told the data was unobtainable. However, on Monday (26 June), assistant coroner Tony Murphy suggested they try again to see if any information could be recovered.

Mr Janin suggested that this was particularly important in light of the Met’s recent admission that the force had lost evidence being used in Mia’s case - her main phone and a second mobile. The Met apologised for its mistake, and Mr Murphy said that although the phone could not be found the data from it has been analysed.

The request for information to be supplied by social media companies comes after campaign group ‘The Bereaved Families for Online Safety’ alongside the 5Rights Foundation successfully rallied the government to include an “important” amendment in the Online Safety Bill. Under the change, Ofcom will be able to force tech platforms to hand over the personal data of children whose deaths are suspected to be related to online harm.

Commenting on the result, 5Rights' founder Baroness Beeban Kidron, who introduced the amendment, said: “This is an important day for bereaved families affected by online harms. The government has promised to provide a humane route for bereaved parents and for coroners to access critical information at a tragic time.”

Ian Russell, the father of 14-year-old Molly Russell who an inquest concluded had died from the “negative effects of online content”, described the plans as “vital”. He continued: “This [measure] must be the first step in stopping the dangerous cycle of leaving other bereaved parents and coroners at the mercy of social media companies.”

After Molly’s death, it took five years for the inquest to secure information from Instagram, where she had viewed extensive amounts of content related to suicide, depression, self-harm, and anxiety before she took her own life aged 14.

Mr Janin, another member of The Bereaves Families For Online Safety, was also present at Parliament on the day the amendment was confirmed. The inquest into the death of his daughter Mia is expected to be scheduled for the New Year.