Mom Sues Snapchat For Death Of Cyberbullied Teenager, Seeking Accountability

Social media has been an alternative for people who want to voice out and meet new people. And while this sounds safe, there are instances where it is not. The result of this is that some people go a bit overboard when they air their thoughts, eventually leading to cyberbullying.

There are instances where people go to the extreme and end up taking their lives. A clear example is the case of Carson Bride, a 16-year-old who ended up taking his life after being cyberbullied on Snapchat last year.

Per the LA Times, Bride received taunts and sexual comments that were too much to handle last year. He took his life in June 2020 and a look at his search history showed he was looking at “Reveal YOLO Username Online.” It remains unclear as to why but it appears it had to do something with the cyberbullying he got from a certain individual.

The mother, Kristine Bride, ended up filing a lawsuit against Snapchat on May 10, 2021, with the Tyler Clementi Foundation. The group that aligned with Bride is a non-profit founded after the death of an 18-year-old who took his own life in 2010.

In their suit, they are seeking damages and want YOLO and LMK banned from Snapchat. Part of their statement can be read below.

“The high school students who anonymously cyberbullied Carson will live with this tragedy for the rest of their lives. However, it is the executives at Snapchat, YOLO, and LMK irresponsibly putting profits over the mental health of young people who ultimately need to be held accountable.”

YOLO uses Snapchat services to allow users to post a photo and invite others to send anonymous messages. Similarly, LMK is a social networking app promoted as a community to chat with like-minded people.

For now, the focus is on Snapchat and the two services. It remains unclear if they will be held liable due to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects “interactive computer service. Kristine made attempts to contact Snapchat in connection with her son’s death but no response was made.

YOLO has been downloaded over 33 million times just in the US alone. LMK, meanwhile, has been downloaded over 5 million times.