South Brunswick Mom Speaks To Lawmakers On Social Media Accountability, Bullying

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — South Brunswick resident Erin Popolo lost her daughter Emily Michaela Murillo on Jan. 29, 2021. Murillo suffered bullying in school and on social media and her death was ruled a suicide. After Murillo’s death, her bullies Zoom-bombed her funeral.

Since then, Popolo has been working tirelessly as an anti-bullying activist.

Recently, she visited Washinton D.C. with a group of 14 moms from across the country, to speak to lawmakers about holding social media accountable.

Popolo met with legislators to show support for the Kids Online Safety Act or KOSA.

While in D.C., Popolo shared her daughter’s story with lawmakers. “Emmy was cyber bullied. Snapchat and Instagram played a role in her death,” Popolo said. “After the Zoom bombing, Zoom didn’t respond to subpoenas for the longest time. This is unacceptable.”

Popolo, like other grieving mothers, wishes to hold social media accountable for the role it plays in bullying and failure to curb dangerous online trends. They are pushing for KOSA, hoping to enforce stricter regulations.

A bipartisan bill, KOSA, requires social media platform to help prevent and mitigate the “heightened risks of physical, emotional, developmental, or material harms to minors” through online platforms.

Pushing for Congress to pass KOSA is not to muzzle free speech, Popolo said. “There’s a reason any product needs to have federal guidelines. KOSA will help put a stop to dangerous social media trends like the ‘black out challenge’ that is luring young children to death,” Popolo said.

While parents are definitely responsible for what their child consumes online, at times it’s difficult to monitor what they see on social media when not at home, Popolo said.

“I’m responsible for my child until they are 18 and are living under my roof. But social media platforms need to be held responsible for the content that is not appropriate for minors,” she said.

In the past few months, the deaths of at least 15 children has been linked to the “blackout challenge” on Tik Tok. These children were aged 12 and under, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The platform was aware that children not old enough to have profiles on the app were dying doing the challenge, the report said.

Since her daughter’s death, Popolo has given up her full-time job, choosing to dedicate her time as an activist.

During her trip to D.C, she met with the staff of senators Ron Wyden, Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell, and Chuck Schumer among others.

They also met with Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who introduced the bill. The group also had a press conference with the senators. “We will continue to fight to get this legislation to pass,” Popolo said.

The South Brunswick resident said the trip was “empowering” and “devastating” at the same time.

“All of us had lost a child due to social media bullying. For the first time, I met a group of people who completely understood my loss and grief. But that’s not the kind of friends I look forward to making. Because no one should suffer the way I have,” Popolo said.

Working as an anti-bullying activist has proved to be "healing” for Popolo. “If I can save just one child and save the family from grief and devastation, it’s all worth to me.”

To learn more about KOSA, click here.

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com