Latest news with #Gavin'sLaw
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SC COMMISSIONER SEXTORTION
A Rock Hill legislator will be standing next to President Donald Trump as he signs a law banning the sharing of revenge porn. ALSO READ: Nigerian man indicted for sextortion scheme that led to SC teen's suicide According to the Herald, Representative Brandon Guffey will join the signing next week, not as a politician but as a father. Guffey lost his son Gavin in 2022. Gavin took his life after being targeted in a sextortion scam. Guffey then spearheaded South Carolina's Gavin's Law, making online sexual extortion a state crime. VIDEO: Nigerian man indicted for sextortion scheme that led to SC teen's suicide
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US bill with backing from SC legislator heads to president's desk
Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-Rock Hill, testifying at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. A bill for which Guffey advocated strengthening protections for children online passed the U.S. House of Representatives Monday, April 28, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy of C-Span) A federal bill that would require social media platforms to remove falsified intimate images and so-called 'revenge porn,' which a South Carolina state legislator has been pushing for, advanced to the president's desk Monday. State Rep. Brandon Guffey has repeatedly called on Congress to pass legislation protecting children online after his 17-year-old son, Gavin Guffey, died by suicide three years ago while being extorted with intimate photos he had shared by direct message on Instagram. Guffey, R-Rock Hill, recounted the story of his son's suicide to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year during a general discussion about protections for children online. The bill passed the House with a vote of 409-2 on Monday. SC House passes bill requiring parental consent for social media Every South Carolina representative in Congress voted for the bill, which will go to President Donald Trump for his signature. 'I think that's a big first step,' Guffey told the SC Daily Gazette. The bill, dubbed the TAKE IT DOWN Act, is among several for which Guffey has been advocating. Another federal proposal that would make social media platforms legally responsible for protecting children on their apps and websites from sexual exploitation has yet to get a vote in either chamber. The passage of the first proposal could lead to others, Guffey said. 'Hopefully it'll begin that snowball,' Guffey said. In recent years, the state has put in place some of its own protections for children online. Gavin's Law, named after Guffey's son, passed in 2023, banning sexual extortion, also known as 'sextortion.' Several other proposals have advanced but not reached the finish line, including a bill requiring children to get permission from their parents before creating social media profiles that passed the House earlier this year. A Senate committee Tuesday advanced a proposal to ban intimate photos circulated without a person's consent, dubbed revenge porn, as well as fake nude photos. The bill, which passed the House unanimously, will go to the Senate floor.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmaker who lost son to suicide warns Senate that ‘big tech is the big tobacco of this generation'
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). South Carolina House Rep. Brandon Guffey gave powerful testimony in Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Children's Safety in the Digital Era. Guffey knows the dangers facing children online all too well. Nearly three years ago, Guffey lost his teenage son, Gavin, to suicide in an apparent sextortion scheme. "Protecting youth from online dangers and holding big tech companies responsible is now my life's mission," Guffey told the committee. He also issued a stark warning, saying "big tech is the big tobacco of this generation." South Carolina Lawmaker Exposes Dangers Of 'Sextortion' After Teenage Son's Suicide In his testimony, a visibly emotional Guffey recounted the night his son took his own life and the fallout. A scammer posing as a girl convinced Gavin to turn on "vanish mode" and send explicit photos in an Instagram chat. "Vanish mode" allows messages to disappear once they are received. The scammer then threatened to release the photos unless he received money from Gavin, who sent the online predator $25, saying it was all he had in his account. This wasn't enough for the scammer, who continued to demand more money. Tragically, Gavin took his own life as a result. Read On The Fox News App The predator, however, was not done with the Guffey family. The state lawmaker told the committee that the scammer proceeded to harass himself, his son and his teen cousin. Guffey says this is because Meta took down the account that tormented his son Gavin and left the rest of the scammer's accounts up. After Michigan Teen's Suicide, Nigerian Brothers Plead Guilty To Planning Deadly Sextortion Scheme Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, who was indicted by a Grand Jury in October 2023, was extradited to the United States from Lagos, Nigeria. He faces the possibility of life in prison. Within a few months of taking office, Guffey was able to pass a law bearing his son's name. Gavin's Law makes sextortion, the act of blackmailing someone using explicit images or videos, a felony in South Carolina. The offense can be upgraded to an aggravated felony if the victim is a minor or if there are other mitigating circumstances, which are outlined in the law. Additionally, Gavin's Law requires South Carolina schools to teach students about the dangers of sextortion. "Sextortion is now taught throughout the State and every kid at least has some awareness so they don't feel alone like my son did that night," Guffey told the Senate committee on Wednesday. Guffey does not have faith in Big Tech's ability to reform itself. He recalled attending a January 2024 hearing in which Mark Zuckerberg offered what he called "a forced, pathetic apology." Pennsylvania Father Helps Fbi Track Down Scamming Suspects Who Led His Son To Suicide Guffey is demanding lawmakers take action on Section 230, which he believes will "go down as one of the greatest disasters." Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act distinguishes Big Tech platforms from those that would be treated as a "publisher." This absolves online platforms of legal liability for what users post. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle discussed the need for legislation to create new industry standards for Big Tech aimed at protecting America's children. While Guffey is advocating for federal legislation, he is also calling for a cultural shift. "I believe that in this country we've lost grace, and we have too often kicked people for the mistakes that they make, and we tell our kids that 'everything you do online will stay with you forever.' Well, imagine if you just took your darkest moment and posted it online," Guffey said to the committee. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) says it received more than 26,710 reports of financial sextortion in 2023. NCMEC says it has seen "an overwhelming increase in reports of sextortion from children and teens." The center advises parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of sextortion, but also to let them know that they need to get help and not immediately pay or comply with the article source: Lawmaker who lost son to suicide warns Senate that 'big tech is the big tobacco of this generation'
Fox News
20-02-2025
- Fox News
Lawmaker who lost son to suicide warns Senate that ‘big tech is the big tobacco of this generation'
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). South Carolina House Rep. Brandon Guffey gave powerful testimony in Wednesday's Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Children's Safety in the Digital Era. Guffey knows the dangers facing children online all too well. Nearly three years ago, Guffey lost his teenage son, Gavin, to suicide in an apparent sextortion scheme. "Protecting youth from online dangers and holding big tech companies responsible is now my life's mission," Guffey told the committee. He also issued a stark warning, saying "big tech is the big tobacco of this generation." In his testimony, a visibly emotional Guffey recounted the night his son took his own life and the fallout. A scammer posing as a girl convinced Gavin to turn on "vanish mode" and send explicit photos in an Instagram chat. "Vanish mode" allows messages to disappear once they are received. The scammer then threatened to release the photos unless he received money from Gavin, who sent the online predator $25, saying it was all he had in his account. This wasn't enough for the scammer, who continued to demand more money. Tragically, Gavin took his own life as a result. The predator, however, was not done with the Guffey family. The state lawmaker told the committee that the scammer proceeded to harass himself, his son and his teen cousin. Guffey says this is because Meta took down the account that tormented his son Gavin and left the rest of the scammer's accounts up. Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, who was indicted by a Grand Jury in October 2023, was extradited to the United States from Lagos, Nigeria. He faces the possibility of life in prison. Within a few months of taking office, Guffey was able to pass a law bearing his son's name. Gavin's Law makes sextortion, the act of blackmailing someone using explicit images or videos, a felony in South Carolina. The offense can be upgraded to an aggravated felony if the victim is a minor or if there are other mitigating circumstances, which are outlined in the law. Additionally, Gavin's Law requires South Carolina schools to teach students about the dangers of sextortion. "Sextortion is now taught throughout the State and every kid at least has some awareness so they don't feel alone like my son did that night," Guffey told the Senate committee on Wednesday. Guffey does not have faith in Big Tech's ability to reform itself. He recalled attending a January 2024 hearing in which Mark Zuckerberg offered what he called "a forced, pathetic apology." Guffey is demanding lawmakers take action on Section 230, which he believes will "go down as one of the greatest disasters." Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act distinguishes Big Tech platforms from those that would be treated as a "publisher." This absolves online platforms of legal liability for what users post. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle discussed the need for legislation to create new industry standards for Big Tech aimed at protecting America's children. While Guffey is advocating for federal legislation, he is also calling for a cultural shift. "I believe that in this country we've lost grace, and we have too often kicked people for the mistakes that they make, and we tell our kids that 'everything you do online will stay with you forever.' Well, imagine if you just took your darkest moment and posted it online," Guffey said to the committee. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) says it received more than 26,710 reports of financial sextortion in 2023. NCMEC says it has seen "an overwhelming increase in reports of sextortion from children and teens." The center advises parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of sextortion, but also to let them know that they need to get help and not immediately pay or comply with the blackmailer.
New York Times
27-01-2025
- New York Times
Nigerian Man Is Extradited in Sextortion Case After Teen's Suicide
A Nigerian man has been extradited to the United States on charges that he targeted a 17-year-old South Carolina boy in a sextortion scheme that prosecutors contend led to the boy's suicide, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. In July 2022, the man, Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, posed as a college woman on social media and convinced the boy to send him sexually compromising images of himself, the according to federal prosecutors. Once Mr. Lawal secured the images, he threatened to release them unless the boy paid him, the authorities said. Within two hours of receiving the threat, the boy, Gavin Guffey, shot himself at his home in Rock Hill, S.C., according to his father, Brandon Guffey, who is now a state lawmaker. Mr. Lawal, 24, was indicted in October 2023 on a charge of child exploitation resulting in death after a federal investigation aided by the Nigerian government, according to the Justice Department. F.B.I. agents arrested him in Lagos, Nigeria, on Friday, and brought him to South Carolina on Saturday. He is also charged with distribution of child pornography; coercion and enticement of a minor; cyberstalking resulting in death; and interstate threats with intent to extort, according to a five-count federal indictment that was unsealed Monday. If convicted, Mr. Lawal could face a sentence of up to life in prison, according to the Justice Department. He has pleaded not guilty, according to court papers. The public defender's office assigned to represent Mr. Lawal did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Monday. The Nigerian government agreed to extradite him to the United States on the condition that he would not face the death penalty, said Adair Ford Boroughs, the U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina. 'I hope the message is clear,' Ms. Boroughs said at a news conference after Mr. Lawal was arraigned on Monday in U.S. District Court in Columbia, S.C. 'If you use the internet to exploit children in our state, you will be held accountable here in courts. We will not allow predators to hide behind a keyboard or across an ocean.' Mr. Lawal was being held at the Lexington County Detention Center ahead of a detention hearing next Monday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Columbia. Mr. Guffey, who said in an interview on Monday that Mr. Lawal had tried to extort money from him after his son's death, was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in November 2022. The first bill he sponsored, called Gavin's Law, made sexual extortion a felony in South Carolina. It was signed in 2023 by Gov. Henry McMaster. Sextortion schemes are a growing challenge and often ensnare American youth. Of the 13,000 reports of financial sextortion the F.B.I. received from October 2021 to March 2023, a vast majority of them involved boys. Mr. Guffey, who attended Mr. Lawal's arraignment on Monday, said he experienced both anger and relief in the courtroom. 'I don't know if I've cracked every molar in my back jaw from gritting my teeth so bad,' he said. But he said he felt as if a significant step had been made toward achieving justice 'considering the slim amount of people that have been extradited from Nigeria.'
