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By Movieguide® Staff
June 23 was Social Media Victims Remembrance Day — a date set aside by bipartisan Senate resolution to honor children who were harmed or killed by dangers hiding inside the apps they used every day.
“It’s been two and a half years; July will be three years. And you know it’s hard; it’s very hard,” said Tammy Rodriguez, whose 11-year-old daughter Selena took her own life after suffering social media addiction, bullying and exploitation at the hands of adult men who found her on Snapchat.
Selena loved to dance. She lit up a room. But once she got access to TikTok and Snapchat, her mother watched her disappear — sleeping less, eating less, becoming a different child — before she was gone entirely.
Selena’s story is not singular. Amber Murphy of Union, Kentucky, lost her 15-year-old son Cameron to suicide on New Year’s Day 2025 after he became addicted to Instagram and TikTok. Murphy has since lobbied Kentucky lawmakers directly for stricter social media age verification requirements, telling legislators: “If he did not have access to these platforms, I don’t think I’d be sitting here with you today.”
And then there is Sammy Chapman — the 16-year-old straight-A student whose death sits at the center of the most significant parental rights legislation to come out of this movement. On Feb. 7, 2021, a drug dealer who had found Sammy on Snapchat delivered fentanyl to his home. Sammy snuck out after his parents fell asleep. He had no idea what he was taking. It killed him.
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His parents, television relationship therapist Dr. Laura Berman and entrepreneur Sam Chapman, couldn’t have monitored those messages. Snapchat didn’t allow it. Third-party safety tools had no platform access to flag the exchange. There was no alert — no chance to intervene.
Rather than grieve quietly, the Chapmans founded the Parent Collective and took their grief to Washington. The bill that carries their son’s name, Sammy’s Law, would require large social media platforms to open their systems to FTC-registered third-party safety software, giving parents real-time visibility into conversations that are currently invisible to them. It is entirely opt-in. It cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee in March 2026 — meaningful progress, though not yet a law.
Movieguide® has tracked this crisis closely for years. We covered the landmark trials against Meta and YouTube that kicked off in February 2026, where plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Lanier called the case “easy as ABC — addicting the brains of children.” We reported on Tammy Rodriguez’s appearance before Congress, where she held Selena’s picture up and locked eyes with Mark Zuckerberg after what she called a “horrible apology.” These families have been carrying this fight, often alone, for a long time.
The numbers are not abstract. According to Bark’s 2025 Annual Report, alerts flagged for self-harm, depression, and predatory contact have climbed year over year. The National Institutes of Health reports that 50% of adolescents admit they are addicted to social media, and 24% say they are “constantly connected.” Platforms designed for engagement are doing exactly what they were built to do. That is the problem.
What parents are asking for isn’t a ban or a surveillance state. It’s the same access a parent has to their child’s text messages — on the platforms that have so far refused to allow it. Sammy’s Law would change that. The Organization for Social Media Safety is collecting signatures right now. Over 93% of parents already support requiring platforms to allow third-party safety tools. The petition is where that majority becomes something lawmakers cannot ignore.
Say Sammy’s name. Say Selena’s name. Say Cameron’s name. Then sign.
Read Next: 5 Safe Alternatives for Your Child’s Favorite Social Media App
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