On the morning of Jan. 6, the parents of Hailey Buzbee awoke to find a note from their 17-year-old daughter. She had run away from their Fishers, Ind., home and asked that no one look for her.
To track the girl’s route, police used cameras that read license plates and eventually tracked down Tyler Thomas, an Ohio man, according to federal court filings. On Feb. 1, Thomas, 39, reportedly, took police to Wayne National Forest in Ohio where they found Hailey’s body.
At the time of Hailey’s disappearance, no alert was in place to help find youth considered to be runaways, such as a Silver Alert for endangered people or an Amber Alert for abducted children.
Hailey and Thomas became acquainted through online video games such as Roblox and League of Legends. They conversed through Discord, a communication app, according to court filings.
The Indiana General Assembly was drawing to a close. Yet Hailey’s parents managed to send a petition to legislators urging tighter controls on youth using social media and more protection for children against online predators.
Since then, two bills have been signed into law.
Under provisions of House Enrolled Act 1408, parents or guardians must consent to social media accounts for youths 15 and younger. Also, parents have the option of receiving a password for their child’s account.
In the second law, House Enrolled Act 1303, the “Silver Alert” program can be initiated for missing children and penalties for child predators are ramped up.
Indiana legislators have proposed similar restrictions in previous years. But nothing took hold until mourning parents convinced lawmakers of the serious implications and addictive nature that social media has on youth.
The new laws might not have changed the fate of Hailey Buzbee, but they will be helpful to parents who want to monitor their child’s online activities.
Indeed, Hailey’s parents stood next to Gov. Mike Braun as he signed the bills into law. The girl’s father, Beau, said, “Last night, (wife) Ronya and I read 1408 again, and it did give us a sense of hope. This isn’t a Band-aid bill. This is forward movement.”
Continued momentum will rely on Hoosiers, both parents and legislators.
Congress won’t address the issue since free speech through online platforms is protected, within limits. The federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act limits content and the collection of personal information for children under 13.
That leaves safety to individual states, but fewer than 20 have enacted a range of laws with varying age restrictions and parental requirements. It is troubling to many that what is barred in Indiana might not be prohibited in surrounding states.
Indiana’s new law is far from perfect. In truth, it may never be perfect. Technology keeps advancing faster than the responsiveness of our Legislature to tough issues. Implementing the social media access measures will be a difficult and ongoing test for the state.
It is tragic that these two laws were propelled by parents mourning the horrific death of their daughter.
Hoosiers parents can be thankful, however, that protecting children from dangers in social media and from child predators has become an urgent priority.
— The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.