The Voices Behind the Kids Online Safety Act: Lori Schott from Colorado

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, led by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), is strongly supported by a broad coalition of parents who have tragically lost their children or whose kids have been severely harmed by Big Tech, young people who want to regain control over their online lives, and experts and advocates who study and see the negative effects of social media firsthand in their communities. The “Voices Behind the Kids Online Safety Act” series will amplify their stories as they call on Congress to pass the legislation to help protect themselves online and to hold Big Tech accountable. The bill has the support of nearly half of the U.S. Senate.

Lori Schott

Lori Schott’s interview with Denver7

The full interview & story can be found HERE

The Schott Family’s Story:

The Schotts lost Annalee on November 15, 2020. She was just 18 years old when she died by suicide. Her mom, dad and brothers were left brokenhearted, and at a complete loss as to what led her to such a dark place.”

But as Lori came to learn, Annalee left behind clues.

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Scrolling through the videos, Lori said she found video after video of young people sharing — and at times glamorizing — self-harm and self-hate. Many had tens of thousands of likes or more.

Lori Schott’s Mission:

“At that moment is when I decided that pain has to be purpose, that I don’t want to see what happened to our daughter impact any other children," Lori said.

Stories like Annalee Schott’s have inspired a rare bipartisan mission in Washington, D.C. to hold social media companies accountable for the content their algorithms serve to our young people. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is before Congress and has cosponsors from both parties, including Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper.

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But in Lori Schott’s eyes, KOSA is a vital first step to making the internet safer for our kids and building her daughter’s legacy. Annalee left her journal entries, Lori said, so we all could “see the impact and to dig down deep to do something about it.”

“Our kids deserve better,” Lori said.

The full Denver7 story and Lori Schott’s interview with Denver7 can be found here

Blumenthal and Blackburn are the lead sponsors of the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, which would provide kids and parents with better tools to protect themselves online, hold Big Tech accountable for harms to kids, and provide transparency into black box algorithms.

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