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In 2016, my family’s world was shattered by the death of our youngest son, David. At just 16 years old, David took his own life after months of being continually harassed, humiliated, and threatened by a group of students through text messages and social media. In the last several months before his death, our previously joyful David became utterly overwhelmed by the constant online barrage of abuse directed toward him; as well as the damaging mental health effects of the design features and content he was exposed to prior to… Read Here

In this Learning Lab episode, host Stephanie Peterson sits down with Maurine Molak, co-founder of David’s Legacy Foundation, to discuss what bullying is and the profound negative impact it has on youth mental health when left unaddressed. Read Here

  Ryan Gorman hosts an iHeartRadio nationwide special featuring Maurine Molak, Co-Founder of the David’s Legacy Foundation. Maurine Molak discusses the loss of her 16-year-old son David to suicide following a continual cyber-bullying attack against him by fellow high school students. She also breaks down the foundation’s work in changing laws to protect kids from cyberbullying better and provide the right resources and support for parents and schools to deal with the problem. Read Here

SAN ANTONIO – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was in San Antonio on Thursday to discuss the importance of Congress passing the Kids Online Safety Act. The bill, which sets out requirements to protect minors from online harms, was approved two weeks ago by the Senate Commerce Committee. Cruz is a ranking member of the committee. Cruz held a news conference with three parents whose children committed suicide due to cyberbullying. Read Here

Parents and government officials have crossed political lines to join together to fight against online attacks aimed at children. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who was in San Antonio for a Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday, said it’s urgent to get the Kids Online Safety Act before President Joe Biden. The KOSA legislation, introduced by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., would require tech and social media companies to default to the most stringent privacy and safety settings, rather than having youth and parents navigate often complicated platforms. “I’m confident we’re going to pass this on the Senate floor. We’re going to pass it on the House (floor). And it’s going to be signed into law,” Cruz said. “I’m not going to suggest to you that KOSA is going to solve everything; we’re going to have a lot more work to do protecting our kids. … But it is a serious and meaningful step forward.” Read Here

Sen. Ted Cruz met with with parents of children who died by suicide after they experienced online bullying and harassment. He stood with them at a press conference on Thursday to discuss the progress of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The legislation, which has bipartisan support, says that its proponents say will help keep children safe online by giving parents more tools to monitor and control children’s online activity and by imposing a legal duty of care on social media companies to take steps to protect kids online. It was unanimously voted out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in late July, putting it one step closer to a full Senate vote. Cruz chairs the committee and supports the bill. Read Here

San Antonio nonprofit David’s Legacy Foundation is joining the nationwide fight to push for legislation that would hold social media platforms accountable for preventing and mitigating dangers to minors, including the promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance use and sexual exploitation as well as advertisements for certain illegal products. The Kid’s Online Safety Act, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, would require social media platforms to provide minors with options to protect their information, disable addictive product features and opt out of personalized algorithmic recommendations. The bill, introduced in 2021, also would give parents new controls to spot harmful behaviors and provide them as well as schools with a dedicated channel to report any harm to minors, according to a Kid’s Online Safety Act brief. To read more, visit the link below: Read Here

Seven years ago, my family’s world was shattered by the death of our youngest son, David. At 16, David took his life after months of being continually harassed, humiliated and threatened by a group of students through text messages and social media. As we have learned, cyberbullying is a form of abuse that can lead to depression, low self-esteem, anxiety and, ultimately, suicide. As a result of David’s tragic death, my husband, Matt, our other two sons, Cliff and Chris, and I created David’s Legacy, a foundation committed to eliminating cyberbullying through education, legislation and legal action. Our foundation’s hard work with Texas lawmakers resulted in David’s Law in 2017 and David’s Law 2.0 in 2021. To read more, visit the link below: Read Here

SAN ANTONIO – Maurine Molak lost her son, David, to suicide in 2016. She said he was the target of relentless and devastating cyberbullying that left him feeling helpless and hopeless months before his death. Since then, she’s co-founded the David’s Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization with a mission to eliminate cyberbullying and other types of bullying of children and teens through education, legislation and legal action. To read more, visit the link below: Read Here