Survivor parent issues statement ahead of Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing

(Washington, D.C.) May 13, 2026 — The following is a statement from ParentsSOS founding member Joann Bogard, mother of Mason (forever 15), ahead of her testimony at the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law Hearing on May 13, 2026: 

“Seven years ago, my 15-year-old son Mason died after attempting a dangerous viral challenge that the YouTube algorithm fed to him unsolicited. I promised him on his deathbed that I would fight for change. That is why I am still here, asking Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act.

“We survivor parents often hear comments that it is the parents' responsibility to protect their children online. I am here to say that even the best parenting skills cannot fight these companies and their algorithms. I was the engaged parent who did everything the experts advised. I turned on every safety feature on Mason's devices. I used watchdog apps. I delayed and limited social media. I had the hard conversations. And the harmful content that killed my son still found its way into his life. My experience, and the experience of every survivor parent standing with me, makes it clear that parents cannot fight this alone.

“Social media platforms are designed to addict our kids, and the executives running them know exactly what they are doing. The recent lawsuits against Meta and other platforms and their accompanying verdicts of negligence have made it very clear — these Big Tech companies are to blame for causing harm to our children, yet they take no responsibility for decisions that put young people at risk. That is precisely why we need a duty of care that KOSA would enforce on these companies. That is why we need KOSA. This is why Mason needed KOSA.

“Yesterday, I stood with other parent survivors as we heard Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz commit to marking KOSA up in the Senate and passing it into law before the end of the year. We need the markup to be scheduled this week — each day of delay is another day these companies operate without accountability, and another week parents are left to fight algorithms alone.

“Parents are not asking for a free pass from parenting. We are asking for a fighting chance. KOSA gives us that chance. Pass it.” ▪