A Sydney mother, whose 15-year-old daughter, Matilda “Tilly” Rosewarne, took her life after severe social media cyberbullying, called for global reform Wednesday at an event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York – banning children under 16 and holding tech companies financially accountable.

In a heartbreaking speech, Emma Mason detailed her daughter’s final moments, as she attempted to take her life for the twelfth and final time on Feb. 16, 2022.

“My brave little girl, determined to look pretty, put on her makeup one last time,” Mason said. “She had planned this moment out in detail. … Exhausted and broken, she just couldn’t fight anymore. She climbed on top of the backyard tree house, she slipped the noose around her neck, and stepped off into whatever experience eventually awaits all of us.”

Tilly was found by her father and 13-year-old sister, who ran into the backyard alone to find her big sister lifeless. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen followed Mason’s speech, accusing apps of attracting and addicting children to manipulative algorithms that are geared to return profits to tech companies.

“This business is not for charity, but parents live with the risks and harms of this every single day,” von der Leyen said. “Cyberbullying, the encouragement of self-harm, online predators, addictive algorithms. It is up to us to step up for the next generation.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were seen together during a NATO leaders summit in Lithuania, July 12, 2023.  (REUTERS/Ints Kalnins)

In Europe, she said an age verification prototype is being tested in France, Spain, Greece, Denmark and Italy.

“It is obvious that this is plain common sense,” von der Leyen said. “We all agree that young people should reach a certain age before they smoke, drink or have access to adult content. The same can be said for social media. … We have no reason to fear the future. The technological revolution has already brought huge benefits to our lives and will bring more. But we can clarify our relationship with tech so that it serves us and not the other way around.”