Michigan bill aims to protect children from internet content that could lead to self-harm

(FOX 2) - A Michigan mother is turning her pain into action by speaking out in favor of new state legislation aimed at protecting children from harmful influences online.

This comes after her 12-year-old daughter took her own life following struggles with mental health.

Big picture view:

Several lawmakers want to tighten state law to make it easier to protect children from social media content that could contribute to self-harm.

Charay Gadd lost her 12-year-old daughter, London, to suicide. She says her daughter’s time on social media was a factor. Gadd spoke before the State Senate Committee on Insurance, Finance and Consumer Protection in support of the SAFE Act and the Kids Code Act. The legislation would prevent social media companies from showing addictive feeds or targeted advertising to anyone under 16. Supporters say it’s another tool intended to help save lives.

FOX 2 also spoke with Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who wrote the state law establishing the sex offender registry when he was a lawmaker. FOX 2 asked him where the law needs to be updated. Here are their remarks:

"London was not born for profit," said Gadd. "She was my daughter. She was 12. And no parent should sit in a silent bedroom because an addictive algorithm took their child down a dark path."

"There need to be a lot of updates to that," said Bouchard. "When I wrote it, I knew there would have to be a lot of tweaks. That had to be constant, and there wasn’t a high level of agreement, for example, on what to do with what we called ‘Romeo and Juliet’ cases, where you had maybe somebody who was 18 or 19 and somebody close in age, like 17 or 16. But technology has also changed, and the way people are being harassed, threatened, and extorted is different. So you really have to get in front of it."

The other side:

Opponents of the bills say they violate the First Amendment and could expose taxpayers to costly litigation.