The proposed legislation would give parents new controls to identify harmful behavior and report negative content.
Social media has become an important part of the lives of many teenagers, including 14-year-old Jasmine Hernandez. But what started as a means of connection and self-expression took a dark turn when the Texas student fell victim to racist cyberbullying.
"One of the things that the licensed school professional counselor said was if she [Jasmine] did not have the faith that she had she would have committed suicide," LaQuanta Hernandez said."That's major to me. This was my baby we're talking about." Hoping to help families like the Hernandezes, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn have reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act in the Senate. The proposed legislation would giveto identify harmful behavior and report negative content. It would also require social media companies to provide options for minors to protect their information and disable addictive features.
According to a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in three teen girls seriously considered suicide, and studies have shown that teen depression rates have doubled over the past decade.
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