Kristin Bride, a mother from Mesa, found herself standing among other grieving parents, holding a sign with a picture of her late son, as tech executives testified before a U.S. Senate Committee on January 31st, addressing online safety concerns. Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, attempted to apologize, but Bride remained resolute, expressing that apologies from tech giants won’t bring back lost loved ones.

The Tragic Story of Carson Bride

Carson, Bride’s son, tragically took his own life at 16 years old in 2020 after relentless bullying on the Snapchat app. The bullying, consisting of anonymous taunts from schoolmates, escalated Carson’s despair to fatal levels. Bride recounted how her son received numerous negative and sexually explicit messages, ultimately leading to his decision to end his life.

A Reluctant Advocate Emerges

Bride, devastated by the loss of her son, became an unwilling advocate for online safety, determined to hold tech companies accountable. Her journey began when she discovered Carson had been cyberbullied through the YOLO app, a now-discontinued companion to Snapchat that allowed anonymous messaging.

Fighting for Change

Despite initial ignorance of the dangers of anonymous messaging apps, Bride chose to fight back. She filed a lawsuit against Snapchat in 2021, leading to the discontinuation of YOLO and similar apps, although the case was eventually dismissed. Bride’s advocacy extended to legislative action, where she played a crucial role in amending cyberbullying laws in Oregon, Carson’s home state.

Advocating for Legislative Change

Bride’s efforts are now focused on national legislation to enhance online safety for children. She supports the Kids Online Safety Act, which aims to establish a duty of care for social media companies, enabling minors to disable addictive features and ensuring the strongest safety settings by default.

Emotional Toll and Industry Response

Bride’s advocacy journey involves numerous emotional challenges, including reliving her son’s tragedy and facing the responses of tech CEOs during hearings. She remains critical of industry responses, emphasizing the urgent need for legislative action to prevent further tragedies.

A Call to Action for Online Safety

Kristin Bride’s advocacy for online safety stems from personal tragedy but has evolved into a national effort to protect children from cyberbullying and exploitation. Her story highlights the critical need for legislative action and responsible technology governance to prevent similar tragedies in the future.