COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina lawmaker is taking legal action against Meta, the owner of Instagram, after his son tragically died by suicide in 2022.
It comes amid a recent call nationwide for tougher regulations for social media platforms.
The 93-page lawsuit, filed on January 23, alleges that Meta failed Gavin Guffey by not implementing tools like age verification and effective parent controls. It also claims that Meta's apps contribute to children's mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.
In July 2022, Gavin received a message on Instagram from someone he believed to be a girl. The conversation turned intimate and then criminal as Gavin became a victim of sextortion. Hours later, Gavin had died by suicide.
Rep. Brandon Guffey expressed the pain of losing his son, who had just graduated from high school with aspirations of becoming an art teacher.
"There are no words for the hurt and the anger that you feel," said Guffey.
While Guffey's family was in mourning, the same scammers that had extorted Gavin attempted to extort them.
"I mean to go as far as to send me a message less than 30 days after Gavin's death to say did I tell you your son begged for his life shows you how evil these people can be," said Guffey. "There's no telling how many other kids they have targeted."
Sextortion, defined as the practice of extorting money from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity, is a growing issue nationwide.
The FBI reported over 13,000 cases between October 2021 and March 2023.
"It's increasing again because of the platforms that minors are using and the opportunities from the offenders that are overseas and just some of the challenges to hold those individuals accountable from overseas locations," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Phil Tejara.
Tejara added that sextortion attempts typically spike during breaks from school and that shame and fear often prevent minors from reporting the crime.
"For parents and adults, establishing relationships with minors so they're comfortable sharing this with them if they make a mistake. And then the importance of these adults to contact law enforcement or the FBI, whether it's through our tips hotline or calling the FBI, so we can take the appropriate actions to hold these perpetrators accountable," said Tejara.
Guffey spearheaded Gavin's Law, which passed in 2023 and made sextortion of a minor a felony in South Carolina.
"I want people to say what is South Carolina doing? How are they leading the fight?," said Guffey.
A new fight is looming. Now, Guffey is suing Instagram's owner, Meta, alleging gross negligence and wrongful death.
Jay Bender, a media attorney, explained that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides legal immunity to websites like Instagram and Facebook, making the lawsuit an uphill battle.
"Members of Congress were persuaded by the tech companies that the only way the internet would work is to shelter interactive websites from liability that would attach ordinarily to a publisher," said Bender.
On Jan. 31, the heads of five social media giants testified on Capitol Hill about online safety. South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham urged the repeal of Section 230 while grilling Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
"You have blood on your hands," said Graham. "You have a product that is killing people. When we had cigarettes killing people, we did something about it."
In January, the South Carolina House passed two bills requiring age verification on porn and social media sites.
Despite the challenges, Guffey is urging other parents to fight back.
"I honestly hope that every parent who has had a child that's been extorted that they file a lawsuit," said Guffey.
Meta, in response, stated that it wants teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online and has over 30 tools and resources to support them and their parents. It added:
"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. Teens can also use NCMEC's Take It Down, a new platform we supported that helps prevent young people's intimate images from being posted online in the future."
Guffey plans to continue his advocacy work through the 'Less Than Three Foundation,' raising awareness of mental health and teen suicide.
"If we can just spread that message that tomorrow needs you and get people to think before they act," said Guffey.
Currently, 33 other states are suing Meta for similar complaints alleging failure to protect children.
If you or a loved one are facing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, there is help readily available. You can call Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat with them online. There are also resources in North Carolina available here and in South Carolina available here.