Testimony

Written Testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee — "Protecting Our Children Online"

Feb 2023 🇺🇸 U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Suicide and self-harm are complex and never caused by one factor alone. Problematic screen use, cyberbullying, harmful content, and online exploitation may increase risk or intensify existing distress. If someone is in immediate danger or emotional crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

Outside the U.S.? Find your local helpline at findahelpline.com.

On February 14, 2023, Kristin Bride submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for its hearing 'Protecting Our Children Online,' chaired by Senator Dick Durbin. The committee's own hearing record lists her as a witness identified as a survivor parent and social media-reform advocate from Portland, Oregon. Her testimony recounts the anonymous-messaging apps linked to Snapchat that she says were used to send her son Carson repeated harassing messages before his death by suicide in 2020, and argues for federal accountability measures — including a duty of care for platforms designing products used by minors — framed around what became the Kids Online Safety Act. TechKids Foundation includes this hearing appearance as a documented instance of a bereaved parent's direct input into federal legislative deliberation, described in association language rather than as a claim of clinical causation.

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CITATION

Bride, Kristin. Written Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, hearing "Protecting Our Children Online," February 14, 2023.

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