1 family hopes new law to protect children online prevents tragedies like theirs
CBSN
A new law aims to strengthen reporting requirements for technology companies to combat online predators seeking to exploit children. One dad told CBS News that he hopes the law will save children like his son, who died by suicide after becoming ensnared in a "sextortion" scheme when he was 17 years old.
John Demay said that what started as a seemingly innocuous encounter on Instagram quickly turned deadly for his teenage son Jordan. Demay said that his son was solicited by a man, posing as a woman, who asked him to send compromising photos. Jordan did so, and then the scammer ordered him to pay up — threatening to release the images otherwise.
"Ultimately it was about money at that point. and I believe they started off around a thousand dollars," Demay said. "They were building collages with his picture and making him believe they were sending it out."
