New internet rules enforced from today – but this grieving mother is sceptical they will work
“People always think: ‘Oh, that’s not going to happen to me, it’s not going to happen to my child,'” says Ellen Roone.
She’s sitting in her peaceful garden in Cheltenham, bumblebees trundling around in the bushes behind her.
“I didn’t expect it to be my child.”
Ellen Roome
Jools, Ellen’s son, was 14 years old when he took his life in 2022. It’s thought he had been watching harmful content online when he died.
Ellen was the one who found him.
Jools was funny, into martial arts – in fact, he was a black belt in kung fu at just 10 years old – and he was popular.
This weekend, his school friends are all heading to Ellen’s house to help her mark what should be his 18th.
They come every year to celebrate his birthday, and there are signs of how loved he is all over the house – pictures, a small wooden dinghy painted red in the garden, his name written down the side in curly script.
When Jools passed away, Ellen became part of a small but growing group of parents in the UK whose children have died after seeing harmful content on the internet.
Today, Ofcom, the communications regulator, begins enforcing new rules to protect the UK’s children online.
Read more: New internet rules come into force – here’s what will change
Jools Sweeney’s mum described him as funny and popular. Pic: Ellen Roome
The new rules mean “highly effective” age verification systems must be in place on pornographic content, and social media algorithms must be altered to stop harmful content popping up on young people’s feeds.
But Ellen, and many of the bereaved parents she campaigns with, aren’t satisfied – for them, the rules don’t go far enough.
“At the moment, you’ve got massive gaps still where it’s not safe,” she says.
“Online platforms are having to do age verification. Is that going to work? Children are quite clever. They find loopholes of how to get around these things.”
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She’s not alone in her scepticism.
More than a hundred miles away in a Warrington youth club, a group of 15 teenagers have given up one of their first afternoons of summer holidays to talk about what they’ve seen online.
When asked if they’ve seen harmful or inappropriate content online, one of them, a 17-year-old called Amy, replies: “More than I can count.”
When she describes the things she has been sent or scrolled through on social media, it’s clear she’s not exaggerating.
17-year-old Ryan called the internet a “very, very malicious place”
Ryan, another 17-year-old, nonchalantly describes the internet as a “very, very malicious place”.
“If you’re going into an online space and you’re expecting simplicity and everything to be nice and tame, you’re going in quite naive,” he says.
Lucas and his twin brother are just 12 years old and even they’ve seen language that “can be quite explicit for children around my age”, he says.
But the young people here at Warrington Youth Zone aren’t all convinced these new rules are going to make a difference.
Many of them assume their peers will just find ways around the content controls.
Young people gathered at the Warrington Youth Zone to talk to Sky News about online safety
“If people are that determined to have an over-18s account, nothing is really going to stop them,” says 15-year-old Freya.
Peter Kyle, the technology secretary, is more optimistic.
“This is a moment where the safety of children online is going to take the biggest step forward since the creation of the internet,” he told Sky News.
“Finally, we [have] platforms who are having to verify people’s age before they access material and there will be very steep sanctions if material finds its way into children’s hands and it is inappropriate,” he says.
He’s proud of these new regulations; they are the first of their kind in this country.
Not only are there much stricter rules in place, Ofcom, the communications regulator, also has significant powers if companies don’t comply.
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It can impose fines of up to £18m or 10% of revenue and, in very serious cases, stop sites operating in the UK, all in the name of cleaning up the internet “cesspit” he says the UK’s children have become used to.
“It is indistinguishable for them as to what’s going to come up next [in their feeds].
“They don’t know whether it’s going to be something healthy that they want to see or whether it is something criminally violent or exploitative or damaging.”
There’s plenty of cynicism about these new rules.
Some people are suspicious about privacy. “Highly effective” age verification can include bank or ID checks or even AI tools that estimate people’s ages.
The chief executive of Yoti, one of the companies now offering these age-checking tools, says he would be “out of business” if he didn’t look after users’ data.
Robin Tombs added: “Over time, people will get comfortable [and] trust that if it is well-regulated, you can do this with privacy.”
Marcus Johnstone from PCD Solicitors
Others worry that more teenagers will end up being criminalised.
Marcus Johnstone, a lawyer who specialises in sexual crimes, says: “You’re not going to be able to stop teenagers watching pornography.”
“The schools, the colleges they’re at, everybody’s watching pornography so they will want access to that.
“It will result in criminalisation of more young people because they will want to find that material and if it’s not available on the easy access sites where they might find it now, then they will go on to the illegal sites.”
Ofcom’s response to that concern was that these rules are about creating societal change as much as technological blocks on content.
“It’s about what we as a society say is normal for our online experiences,” says Jessica Smith, online safety principal at the regulator.
Others, like Ellen, want the rules to go much further.
She supports an all-out ban of under-18s on social media, saying an Australia-style ban of under-16s doesn’t go far enough.
“At 16, you’re still quite naive and young. I remember thinking I was very mature at 16. Looking back, I really wasn’t,” she says.
Peter Kyle, while celebrating the new rules, is realistic.
“I am not telling every parent out there that [from today], every single corner of the internet is going to be safe for their kids to be on, or that some content won’t slip through.
“But what I am saying is that I am expecting a step change in children’s experience.
“They will notice the difference. For the first time since the creation of the internet, parents and children will notice a difference in their online experience.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
A man has died after suffering cardiac arrest onboard a boat attempting to reach the UK.
The vessel turned back towards Equihen beach on the French coast yesterday morning.
A nurse tried to resuscitate the man but was unsuccessful.
Pic: PA
French authorities have now launched an investigation into the circumstances.
A spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, has criticised authorities on both sides of the Channel.
Jacob Burns said: “Yet again we have a tragedy in the Channel, that is the consequence of the deadly, costly and ineffective security policies implemented by the UK and France.”
Pic: PA
Later on Saturday, a lifeboat carried migrants who have made the voyage into the Port of Dover.
Photographs showed them huddled under blankets and orange life jackets on board.
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Provisional statistics from the Home Office suggest almost 24,000 people have arrived on small boats in the UK so far this year.
Towns and cities across the UK have seen protests in recent days, primarily outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers.
Here the Lionesses are again. Another final. Another showdown with Spain.
All of a sudden, what was once so anticipated and longed for can start to seem expected rather than extraordinary.
What happened to the great underachievers of world football? They are now consistently among the final two going for glory.
At Euro 2022, the Lionesses ended England’s 56-year wait for a major trophy by beating Germany 2-1 after extra time. Pic: Reuters
No one is taking that for granted.
Especially not Leah Williamson, with the chance to retain the European Championship trophy lifted three years ago at Wembley.
“The opportunity of tomorrow and what’s on offer is the best thing in football,” the England captain said. “I think we don’t necessarily carry the weight of it and how much it means to people, but we’re aware of it because it means the same to us.”
So often they were only watching other nations making finals.
England’s first was the men winning the 1966 World Cup.
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Then, with the rebirth of women’s football after bans and neglect, it was the Lionesses’ turn to make it to the finals – in 1984 and 2009.
And the Three Lions had to wait until 2021 to make it to a final, losing to Italy on penalties at Wembley.
It kickstarted an incredible run of five successive years of finals for England senior teams – with another men’s Euros final defeat in 2024.
The Lionesses have led the way, bringing football home by defeating Germany in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley.
They just missed out on going one better when reaching a first Women’s World Cup final a year later.
England manager Sarina Wiegman reacts to defeat against Spain at the Women’s World Cup final in 2023. Pic: Reuters
Lauren James looks dejected after their World Cup defeat, but is confirmed fit for Sunday’s revenge match against Spain. Pic: Reuters
Now, in Basel, comes the chance for revenge against Spain – even though no one in the England camp is saying that, publicly at least, in Switzerland.
Especially knowing how challenging a task it is coming up again against Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putella – the recent winners of football’s biggest individual honours.
England fans celebrating after England beat Italy to reach the finals. Pic: Reuters
Given England’s history against Spain, it could be a nerve-wracking time for England fans. File pic: Action Images/Reuters
But this is Spain’s first Euros final.
And there is some fear from the world champions at England’s grit and resolve to produce comebacks late in the quarter-finals and semi-finals – with 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang’s goals integral to the fightbacks.
England celebrate their semi-final win against Italy to reach the finals. Pic: Reuters
Michelle Agyemang has propelled England to the Euro 2025 final with two vital goals. Pic: AP
Spain captain Irene Paredes reflected yesterday on how the Lionesses can flip a result late on.
But she was also discussing how their World Cup win was tarnished by the on-pitch kiss that led to former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales being convicted of a sexual assault on striker Jenni Hermoso.
It sparked a wider clamour in Spain for improved rights and respect for women.
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“Since then [2023] we took big steps forward,” Paredes said.
“I think this idea is disappearing from society. I still believe we have to continue opening doors… we’re a reference for boys and girls in society, but we still have things to do.”
It is a reminder that while tonight is about collecting silverware, both England and Spain know that emerging as champions can drive further growth in women’s football back home.
Amid it all, they’ll try to savour just what reaching a final means and how rare they are – until recently for English and Spanish women.
A woman who thought she was being injected with Botox was left unable to swallow and doctors thought she had suffered a stroke – after she contracted a life-threatening illness from a potentially illegal product.
Nicola Fairley is one of dozens of people who have developed botulism linked to unlicensed anti-wrinkle injections.
She had the procedure done with her regular beautician after winning a Facebook competition for three areas of “Botox”.
Nicola Fairley
“Within two or three hours my forehead and the sides of my eyes had started to freeze,” Nicola says.
“At first I thought ‘amazing’, that’s what I wanted – then it just carried on.”
Nicola was eventually sent to A&E in Durham, where she met several other patients who all had similar symptoms.
Doctors were stumped. “They thought I’d had a stroke,” she says.
“We all had problems with our eyes, some of us with our breathing. I couldn’t swallow – they put me on nil by mouth because they were worried I would choke in the waiting room.”
Doctors were worried Nicola could choke after she was injected with a suspected illegal product
It turns out all of the patients had recently had anti-wrinkle injections containing botulinum toxin.
Health officials believe they were imported, illegal products.
Botulism – the disease they caused – is so rare many doctors never see it in their entire careers.
It can cause symptoms including slurred speech and breathing problems, and can be deadly.
The disease is so unusual, and so many cases were coming in, that doctors exhausted their stocks of anti-toxin and had to ask hospitals as far away as London to get more.
The UK Health Security Agency has so far confirmed 38 cases of botulism linked to cosmetic toxin injections, but Sky News has been told of several more.
The outbreak began in the North East but cases have now been seen in the East of England and East Midlands as well.
There are only a handful of legal botulinum toxin products in the UK – of which Botox is one.
But cosmetic treatments are largely unregulated, with anyone allowed to inject products like fillers and toxins without any medical training.
Cheap, illegal products imported from overseas are easily available.
Dr Steven Land
‘It’s the Wild West’
Dr Steven Land runs Novellus Aesthetics clinic in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked for decades as an emergency medicine doctor before moving into aesthetics.
He says he has been warning health officials of an outbreak for years.
“It’s the Wild West,” Dr Land told Sky News.
“Because anyone can do this, there is a lack of knowledge around what is legal, what’s not legal, what is okay to be injected.
“These illegal toxins could have 50 units, 5,000 units or rat poison – there could be anything in there.”
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Dr Land showed us messages that he says he gets on a weekly basis, from sellers trying to push him cheap, unlicensed products.
They advertise “limited time offers” and cheap bundles on toxins imported from overseas. He calls them “drug dealers”.
“They are preying on the lack of knowledge among non-medical practitioners,” he says.
Consultations on how to regulate the aesthetics industry have been ongoing for years – but so far, no changes have been introduced.
The UK government now says it does plan to regulate certain procedures, but it’s not said how it will do this, or when.
“What will it take?” Nicola says. “One of the women we were with did almost die – she had to be resuscitated.”
Nicola’s beautician has stopped responding to her messages, so she says she still has no idea what the product was “or how much of it is in me”.
She doesn’t know how long her symptoms will last, but just hopes she will eventually recover.
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