Suicide Prevention Means Tackling Online Harms with KOSA
By Cheryl Brown
September is Suicide Prevention Month, and for me, it is a month of both unbearable grief and unshakable resolve. My daughter, McKenna Brown, should be here with us, lacing up her skates, enjoying college life, and envisioning her future. Instead, she is a memory I hold dear. McKenna died by suicide at 16 years old, mere days before she was set to begin her senior year of high school.
My ‘Kenna Bear’ was an extraordinary girl. She was witty, driven, fiercely protective of her friends, and a brilliant goalie on her hockey team. Yet she also carried pain that no child should have to shoulder. After surviving a sexual assault, she dealt with severe trauma that never fully dissipated. Later, in high school, a private photo was spread among classmates and weaponized against her. It was a betrayal like no other. To make things worse, the incident was followed by relentless cyberbullying and online abuse that was waiting for her every time she looked at her phone.
I watched this happen in real time. I watched her smile through heartbreak, bury herself into hockey, and try to rebuild her confidence. But there was no escaping the digital onslaught. The platforms where she should have been protected instead profited from the clicks and views of the cruel messages people sent her. Despite my vigilance, I could not shield her from the social media storm that consumed her. Make no mistake, Big Tech’s so-called safety features failed my daughter. McKenna’s bullies never faced consequences, and that, in turn, intensified the anguish she was experiencing.
McKenna left behind a note that read, “I’m sorry, I can’t take it anymore.” Those words echo in my mind every single day because they aren’t just McKenna’s words; they are the words of a generation of children overwhelmed by online harms and driven into mental despair. As parents, as families, and as a nation, we cannot look away.
That is why I am calling on Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) if they want to prevent teen suicides. KOSA would finally require tech companies to take responsibility for the digital ecosystems they’ve created for children—online spaces with unchecked algorithms that are precision-striking our children in their bedrooms. And all in the name of profit.
Every parent I’ve met who has lost a child to online harms carries the same impossible question: What more could I have done? The truth is, we should not have to fight this fight alone. Congress has the rare second chance to pass KOSA and protect our kids. That’s why I urge you to take action and tell your House Representatives and Senators to act now. Passing KOSA won’t bring my daughter back but it could certainly save someone else’s.
