The mother of a teenager who committed suicide in Oregon after being harassed on Snapchat filed a lawsuit looking for the application to take responsibility for failing to protect its users.
Los Angeles Times reported that Kristin Bride will take legal action against three apps that her son, Carson James Bride used before taking his own life in June 2020.
According to the newspaper, the 16-year-old used the Snapchat, YOLO and LMK apps before he died. YOLO and LMK have in common making it possible for users to submit anonymous questions on Snapchat, a mechanism used by some of Bride’s classmates to perpetrate sustained bullying.
The young man was studying at Riverdale High School in Portland and the last search on his cell phone before he died was: “reveal YOLO username online.”
It may interest you:
Los Angeles Times indicates that his peer bullies sent reminders of embarrassing moments for the teenager such as when he fainted in biology class.
They also sent him sexual messages to assaulting, intimidating, and abusing the adolescent, who was not responding to comments because it involved making them public on Snapchat stories, revealing what made him feel embarrassed.
The lawsuit filed on May 10 by his mother accuses apps of violating consumer protection laws.
It may interest you
If the lawsuit is not dismissed, it could pave the way for the country’s judicial rulings to grow in favor of the applications being held responsible for the well-being of their users.
At the moment, this type of lawsuit is hindered by section 230 of the Decency in Communication Act, whose content does not hold the applications responsible for what their users publish.
It may interest you:
For more information, subscribe to our Newsletter.
–
