South Carolina Rep. Brandon Guffey (R) gave an emotional testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Children’s Safety in the Digital Era.
According to Fox News, Guffey lost his teenage son, Gavin, to suicide almost three years ago, when he became the victim of online scammers who attempted to extort money from him after he sent explicit photos of himself to someone he met online.
During the committee meeting on Wednesday, Guffey said that “big tech is the big tobacco of this generation.”
“Protecting youth from online dangers and holding big tech companies responsible is now my life’s mission,” Guffey told senators, before recounting the night his son took his own life.
A scammer, identified as Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, was impersonating a girl on Instagram and persuaded Gavin to use the app’s “vanish mode” to send explicit photos. This feature allows messages to disappear after they are seen.
The scammer then threatened to release the photos unless Gavin paid him. Gavin, who only had $25 in his account, sent the money, but the scammer demanded more. Tragically, Gavin took his own life as a result.
Lawal did not stop there. Guffey testified to the committee that Lawal had continued to harass him, his son, and his teen cousin. Lawal was indicted by a Grand Jury in October 2023, and was extradited to the United States from Lagos, Nigeria. He faces the possibility of life in prison.
Shortly after taking office, Guffey successfully passed a law in honor of his son. Gavin’s Law makes sextortion, the act of blackmailing someone with explicit images or videos, a felony in South Carolina.
The offense is upgraded to an aggravated felony if the victim is a minor or if there are other aggravating circumstances, as outlined in the law. Additionally, Gavin’s Law mandates that South Carolina schools educate students about the dangers of sextortion.
“One of the messages I received read ‘did I tell you your son begged for his life?’ I hope you ask how is this possible? It’s possible because Instagram removed the profile that attacked Gavin but left up the additional profiles that predators use. One of those is the account that began to attack my family after Meta was fully aware of this predator.” Guffey said.
Guffey said it was from that moment he decided to make it his life’s mission to protect children online.
“Sextortion is mandated in education throughout the state of South Carolina, and every kid needs to have at least some awareness, so they don’t feel alone like my son did that night,” Guffey added.
Guffey then called out other lawmakers for not implementing tougher laws, and asked if it would take them losing their own families to make them do something.
“I’ve witnessed over 40 teens take their lives since Gavin, just due to sextortion, while we lawmakers fight amongst ourselves. Will it take one of your own children or grandchildren to finally get fed up enough to move?” he said.
