South Carolina State Representative Brandon Guffey‘s son, Gavin Guffey, reportedly became involved in an online “sextortion” plot through social media. In the aftermath, the politician sued Meta, Instagram’s parent company.
According to WBALTV.com, Gavin, who was 18, was contacted through Instagram by someone claiming to be a girl his age and who asked for nude photos. Gavin sent the images, but shortly afterward, whomever he was in contact with demanded money, or the pictures would be released. Gavin gave him as much as he could, and asked for more time. WSOC-TV says Gavin was targeted to hurt his father’s political career.
According to the FBI, “sextortion” — or sexual extortion — is increasingly common, and typically targets teenage boys, led to believe they’re in contact with a girl their age, but who then demand money. In a press release, the FBI reported a 20% increase in sextortion between October 2021 and March 2023.
Gavin Guffey died by suicide
Unable to raise the funds to pay the scammers, Gavin Guffey chose to end his own life. According to the FBI, in the 2021-2023 period, around 13,000 victims were targeted by sextortion, and 20 of those victims died by suicide. After Guffey’s death, his father, Rep. Brandon Guffey (R-SC) passed a law in South Carolina nicknamed “Gavin’s Law,” making sextortion an aggravated felony if someone dies or gets hurt.
Representative Guffey said, “[Gavin] was telling them he would get them more money, please don’t send these images out … they didn’t care. I think in his mind it was just too much, and he didn’t know how he would overcome that.”
After Gavin died, the account through which he was contacted was shut down, but Gavin’s father said that after his son died, he, too, was targeted through a new account, and the sextortion attempt continued. It was through that contact that Guffey and his family learned why his son chose to die.
Guffey wants Meta held accountable
In Jan. 2024, it was widely reported that Representative Guffey had filed a lawsuit in South Carolina to hold Meta, Instagram’s parent company, responsible in similar sextortion cases. The lawsuit also states that Meta targets adolescents through its platforms, and causes a long list of social, emotional, and psychological issues, with few tools available for young users and parents to get help.
In a statement released to CNN, regarding the suit, a Meta spokesperson said:
“[Meta has] over 30 tools and resources to support them and their parents … We encourage teens and adults to report suspicious content, activity, or accounts to us if they feel unsafe and we reach out to law enforcement in cases of imminent harm.”
via CNN
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Published: Jan 31, 2024 05:26 pm