US bill with backing from SC legislator heads to president’s desk

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.