A South Carolina lawmaker who has been leading the fight against sextortion following his son’s death is now taking on a social media giant.
South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey is suing Meta, saying the company’s platforms are harmful to children and aren’t being held accountable.
Channel 9 has reported on Guffey’s battle since his son, Gavin, became a victim of sextortion. Scammers targeted Gavin and began extorting him, threatening to share nude images to hurt Guffey’s political career.
Gavin, who was 18 at the time, died by suicide after the threats.
Then, two weeks after Gavin’s funeral, Guffey received a message on Instagram from an unknown account with a laughing emoji. Guffey said family members on Gavin’s followers list received similar messages.
Guffey said one of the messages read, “Did I tell you your son begged for his life?”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: South Carolina representative fights sextortion after son’s death
Since then, Guffey has led the charge against sextortion – a bill he introduced was passed into law last year, and it increases penalties for anyone trying to extort someone over their intimate photos or data.