Inquest into Hertfordshire girl’s death will focus on TikTok

TikTok will be the focus of an inquest into the death of a girl who used the app before her death, a coroner said.

Maia Walsh, 13, posted “I don’t think I’ll live past 14” on the platform months before she was found dead at her home in Hertford, Hertfordshire, on 6 October 2022.

During a pre-inquest review into her death, area coroner for Hertfordshire Jacques Howell indicated he would instruct Ofcom to request data from Maia’s accounts.

No further details about the cause of her death were revealed during the hearing.

Jessica Elliott, representing Maia’s family, said the girl had posted on the app that she was doubtful she would live past the age of 14.

Ms Elliott told the court it was unclear if she used other social media apps but TikTok “was what took up the vast majority of Maia’s time”.

The coroner said: “My preliminary thought is to focus the inquiries on that TikTok platform.”

During the inquest, her online posts, interactions, direct messages, followed hashtags, searches, and account changes will be considered, Mr Howell added.

Hertfordshire Police told the court it had already conducted “forensic downloads” of her phone and iPad.

Statements from her school regarding it’s social media policy will also be gathered, the hearing was told.

The coroner said there was unlikely to be any dispute about Maia’s medical cause of death.

Her father, Liam Walsh, from Basildon in Essex, sued TikTok and its parent firm ByteDance in the US last month in an effort to force the firm to release Maia’s data.

He joined bereaved families of three other children: Isaac Kenevan, Archie Battersbee and Julian “Jools” Sweeney.

The wrongful death legal case claims the four children died attempting a so-called “blackout challenge”, where participants hold their breath until they pass out because of a lack of oxygen.

The parents want access to their children’s account data to “get answers” about how they died.

No future date for the inquest was set, but the coroner told Mr Walsh he hoped matters would be listed “as soon as is reasonably practical”.