PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Almost three years have passed since 16-year-old McKenna Brown ended her life, and now her parents are advocating for legislation to shield children from the perils of the online world.
Cheryl and Hunter Brown shared that their daughter, a lively student and athlete at East Lake High School, battled the emotional impact of continuous online bullying in the days prior to her death.
“There’s no escape from it. It’s constant. McKenna did try to detach, especially in the days leading up to her taking her own life,” expressed her mother, Cheryl Brown.
McKenna was three days away from beginning her senior year at East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs. She had aspirations of becoming a psychologist and playing hockey at the University of South Florida.
Her parents said she was thriving academically, socially, and athletically, but behind her smile, she was suffering in silence.
The Browns said McKenna had kept a deep, dark secret: a trauma from years earlier. She had been raped at age 13 by a friend’s older brother.
Then, during her freshman year, a compromising photo was shared — leading to what her parents describe as a prolonged period of cyberbullying.
“McKenna went through a period of cyberbullying,” said her father, Hunter Brown. “Less than 24 hours after that information resurfaced in her hockey community, she took her own life.”
Florida law does not currently recognize cyberbullying as a crime. The Browns are advocating for the Kids Online Safety Act. The KOSA bill is designed to hold tech companies accountable and prioritize children’s safety over profits.
“There’s a duty of care built in,” Cheryl Brown said. “It’s designed to hold Big Tech more accountable and ensure they put kids’ safety first.”
The bill passed in the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support but is currently stalled in the House. U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis co-sponsored the legislation.
Bilirakis’ office said the congressman has met with McKenna’s family and is working on getting this bill across the finish line.
“Currently, he is actively working with stakeholders and building a coalition to protect kids online,” a spokesperson said
The Browns said the issue is urgent, as children even younger than McKenna are taking their own lives following online bullying.
“Is it going to take someone’s kid to pass away before they realize how important this is?” Cheryl Brown asked. “There are enough kids who have already died.”
In their daughter’s memory, the family launched The McKenna Way, a nonprofit organization that advocates for safer social media, funds suicide prevention efforts, and supports a hockey scholarship at USF.
On Aug. 2, the Browns will hold the third annual McKenna Way Kindness Matters Memorial Event at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy, where McKenna first learned to skate. It will take place at 2 p.m.
