After her 12-year-old daughter died by suicide, Charay Gadd began speaking out about how algorithm-driven social media feeds exposed her child to harmful self-harm content she never saw coming.

Stories like hers were at the center of a recent town hall hosted by The ‘Gander, featuring state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and child health experts.

The conversation took place as a bill package was making its way through the Michigan Legislature, aimed at curbing addictive social media features, strengthening protections for kids, and holding tech companies accountable.

Read on for the full story.

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US Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow says Big Tech’s exploitation of kids is a policy failure—not a parenting problem. (The ’Gander/YouTube)

By Kyle Kaminski

London Gadd wanted to be a commercial pilot. She loved soccer, drawing, and making people laugh. She was 12 years old when she died by suicide in 2024.

Her mother, Charay Gadd, contends that algorithm-driven social media feeds walked her daughter from an innocent search about alligator-skin boots into a spiral of self-harm content—one that she couldn’t see and the platform had no interest in stopping.

Charay Gadd shared her story at a town hall hosted by The ’Gander this month to help ensure her daughter doesn’t become a statistic. She’s demanding new policies to crack down on Big Tech at both the state and federal level. Her calls for change are starting to be heard.

“How many children have to lose their lives before they realize this is real?” Gadd said. “This isn’t hypothetical anymore. There’s documentation showing that they know what they’re doing.”

Gadd was joined by state Sen. Mallory McMorrow; Dr. Jenny Radesky, a director at Michigan Medicine; and Mariella Ma, a University of Michigan senior and student lead for Design It For Us, a youth-led coalition that’s actively pushing back against Big Tech’s business models. 

The conversation largely centered on Kids Over Clicks, a package of state legislation that was introduced last year, passed the Michigan Senate in April, and now sits in the state House. 

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While the Kids Over Clicks legislation would introduce protections like banning social media platforms (like Facebook and Instagram) from serving kids addictive feeds unless parental consent is provided, and introducing stricter data privacy and safety settings for kids, it’s clear these services are here to stay as part of our day-to-day lives.

That’s why this week, we want to know:

Reminder: When responding, include your first name and where you’re from to have your answer included.

Have a question you want me to ask our community? Send it my way. I might feature it in a future edition.

Want deeper coverage of Michigan politics? Our free Thursday newsletter, This Week in Michigan Politics, breaks down what’s happening in Lansing and Washington—clearly and without the jargon.

With the midterms approaching, we’ll keep you informed on what could affect your day-to-day life.

Interested?

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Karel Vega with a feature story from Kyle Kaminski. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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