Illinois House to vote on Sammy's Law; would allow parents to track child's social media activity

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- The Let Parents Choose Protection Act gained momentum on Wednesday in the Illinois General Assembly.

House Bill 5380, also known as Sammy's Law, is named after 16-year-old Sammy Chapman.

The teen died after buying fentanyl-laced drugs on Snapchat and having them delivered to his home.

Sammy's Law would mandate social media platforms to provide data to a third-party software for parents to track their children online.

The data would be shared via third-party app, which would alert parents if their child is searching topics related to self-harm, drug use, and cyberbullying.

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Chicago mother Rose Bronstein testified at a hearing on Wednesday. Her fifteen year-old son, Nate, died by suicide in 2021, after allegedly being cyberbullied by classmates.

"Please help us save other children's lives," Bronstein said. "Nobody was around, or available, or made the effort to save my child. But we have to make the effort to save others. This is now a matter of life or death."

The bill passed unanimously through committee on Wednesday, and now moves to the Illinois House for a vote.

Sammy's Law is sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, and backed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

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