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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION 178

 
2    WHEREAS, The Internet "Momo Challenge" phenomenon has
3taken social media by storm as parents, school districts, and
4police authorities express deep concern that adolescents might
5be seeing a video on children's websites that encourages young
6people to commit acts of self-harm and suicide; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Over the past decade, videos and stories
8originating on the Internet have been linked to self-harm,
9suicide, and violence toward others; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Instances of depression and suicide among
11adolescents are on the rise, with some studies reporting that
12hospitalizations of suicidal teenagers have doubled in the past
13decade; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The developing brains of children and teenagers
15are sensitive to disturbing content and more susceptible to
16making quick, risky decisions than adults; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
18HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19we urge video sharing services and all websites that cater to
20children to maintain stringent policies regarding the content
21that is posted by the public; and be it further
 

 

 

HR0178 Enrolled- 2 -LRB101 11542 ALS 57432 r

1    RESOLVED, That we urge the aforementioned websites to do
2everything in their power to remove media that could be
3life-threatening to children and to help law enforcement
4officials locate the creators of this content if necessary; and
5be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That we urge parents and legal guardians to
7always exercise caution when allowing children to access the
8Internet, as there is no guarantee that all the material they
9will be exposed to is safe regardless of whether they are using
10a website intended for children, and to identify and report
11harmful content to websites and video sharing services; and be
12it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois General Assembly to
14increase awareness about Internet safety and to advance
15policies to keep children safe on the web.