BUFFALO, NY — Christine McComas said her daughter Grace was “a mess.”
“Grace is the third of our four children and she was literally born lucky,” McComas said. “She had a bright life from birth.”
The teenager did well at school, played sports, was involved in music and in student council.
“She was not a child in danger,” McComas said. “I never believed we could lose her to suicide.”
However, she said that at 14, Grace was the victim of a drug-assisted sexual assault, followed by the worst cyberbullying she has ever experienced.
“‘I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate you.’ Literally seven times. ‘I hope you see this and cry yourself to sleep and then wake up and kill yourself. You might as well. You’re just a lousy piece of…'” McComas recited from memory some of the things that have been said about her daughter online.
Grace McComas took her own life on Easter Sunday 2012. Within a year, Maryland passed Grace’s Law, which criminalized cyberbullying of minors. But her mother said in the 12 years since then, the internet has become an even more dangerous place.
“What really frustrates me is the Kids Online Safety Act,” McComas said. “I’m absolutely certain it will save lives.”
Christine is a member of Parents for Safe Online Spaces, a group of 20 families who have all lost a child. They are working with the national advocacy group Fairplay for Kids and others advocating for the federal Kids Online Safety Act.
“Much of the harm being done to children online that is causing parents so much concern is preventable,” said Josh Golin, CEO of Fairplay. “It is caused by conscious design decisions made by these social media companies.”
He said KOSA was a common sense regulation. It would create a “duty of care” requiring companies to prevent and mitigate harm to children when the design of their platform, such as algorithms, causes that harm.
“This is not a free speech bill,” Golin said. “It’s not going to stop any child from speaking out among themselves. It’s not going to stop them from finding information or finding community online.”
The Senate passed the bill last month by a vote of 93-1, but it is currently stuck in the House. Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy of western New York is skeptical it will come to a vote this year because lawmakers need to make sure the bill works as intended and is constitutional.
“We really need to look at the legislation thoroughly, but 50 different versions of it are not helpful. A nationwide standard would be the way to go,” Langworthy said.
However, McComas said the sooner the bill is passed, the more young lives could be saved.
“I feel, for whatever reason, that it’s my job and I want this bill to pass so I don’t have to keep doing this, but I’m going to keep doing this until something happens,” she said.
Opposition has raised concerns that the First Amendment will be violated and that children in the LGBTQ+ community will have a hard time finding critical support and resources. But supporters said the bill was carefully crafted and revised to address these issues and argued much of the opposition is funded by big tech companies with ulterior motives.
