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Maddy Croswell’s story deserves to be heard if it can protect even one child or spare one family from devastation, says the 13-year-old’s mother, Chelsey Whittingham.
Last September, Whittingham said she and her family experienced the worst trauma they could ever imagine when Maddy lost her life after repeated exposure to harmful content that was pushed on her by a social media platform.
“We believed we were doing everything we could to protect our child,” Whittingham said Monday, June 29, alongside B.C.’s Attorney General Niki Sharma, who had met her in Williams Lake at the first-ever Cariboo Classic Invitational hosted by the Cariboo Chilcotin Gymnastics Association.
“We had parental controls on her phone. We monitored screen time. We had open communication and a safe, loving home environment. We had no reason to believe the extent of what Maddy was being exposed to by the social media platform.”
What many parents, according to Whittingham, may not realize is that parental controls alone are no match for powerful recommendation systems that can continuously expose vulnerable children to emotionally harmful and dangerous content without their families’ knowledge.
While Whittingham is encouraged to see the introduction of the Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, in federal parliament, she would like to see more.
“Families cannot fight billion-dollar technology systems alone,” Whittingham continued. “Canada needs greater transparency around age verification, recommendation algorithms directed at children, regulation of self-harm and suicide-promoting content targeting minors, independent oversight of platforms, and faster intervention mechanisms for youth.”
Whittingham added that both parents and children require education and guidance about what these social media platforms are and how to protect children from the harms that they can cause.
“These platforms are designed to maximize kids’ time and attention online,” she said, noting parents should be educated on how to effectively set time limits, monitor children’s use, and disable the collection of data and algorithmic recommendations that are targeted to maximizing time online, with no regard to the harms that can be caused.
“This requires a concerted effort by governments, educators, health-care providers and parents, and the co-operation of the tech companies. It is time for these companies to put people over profits.”
At the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex in Williams Lake on Saturday, May 23, Whittingham and Maddy’s siblings presented three gymnasts with the Spirit of the Sport Award in memory of Maddy, who was described by the Cariboo Chilcotin Gymnastics Association as not only an amazing athlete but also a wonderful teammate.
“Maddy should be remembered for the beautiful life she lived, not the tragedy that took her from us,” Whittingham said, adding her daughter is terribly loved and missed every single day by everyone who knew her.
“Maddy was a child who deserved protection…Children deserve to grow up in an online world designed to protect them, not exploit their vulnerability.”
Sharma said what you are hearing from Whittingham is a real pain of losing a child – something that shouldn’t have happened.
As the province’s attorney general, Sharma noted she has sat down with parents who have suffered a loss.
“There are too many names to keep track of, and what I can say is enough is enough,” Sharma said. “Kids deserve to be safe online, and parents deserve to have that security of knowing that when they are online, those platforms are designed to be safe for children.”
Sharma is encouraged by the federal government introducing legislation earlier this month that would provide a framework for safety, but said it could take years to be put in place and kids cannot wait.
She added that companies need to stop relying on how much profit can be made and instead design platforms to ensure safety and security for young people.
“It means mandatory reporting when self-harm or harm to others is on those platforms or indicated by those companies,” Sharma said. “It also means real teeth to make sure that if a company is not living up to those standards, there is enforceability that makes them accountable.”
Additionally, voices like Whittingham’s and other parents who have lived experience, understand where the gaps and harms are as well as the tragedy that can happen when those safety measures are not in place, also need to be included, Sharma said.
“It takes a really special person to use their voice suffering with such grief and loss to try to bring about change, to try to make the system better,” Sharma said, taking a moment to honour Whittingham for her courage.
Countries worldwide are continuing to introduce social media legislation pertaining to youth, such as Australia, which announced on Monday, June 29, new legislation to strengthen enforcement of its under-16 social media ban that Sharma believes is an important first step.