Rep. Brandon Guffey on protecting children from digital threats

About this episode

Rep. Brandon Guffey discusses his efforts to protect children from digital threats and the impact of sextortion and AI.

Representative Brandon Guffey of York County talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about the loss of his son due to sextortion and what he has and is doing to stop other children from this crime and other threats from Artificial Intelligence industry. He describes how children are being extorted for money and even commit crimes to keep private photos they have shared after being lured into fake online relationships. Rep. Guffey has become a national leader in the effort to protect children from algorithms used by tech companies to push pornography, misinformation, and extreme positions on to children. He says that interactive features like Chatbox AI have even promoted children to commit suicide. Rep. Guffey is passionate about stopping efforts by President Trump and bipartisan members of Congress to stop states from regulating AI. Social media companies are spending hundreds of millions in support of national efforts to pre-empt states from enacting AI regulations. He blames a 1996 law passed by Congress to protect social media companies from being held liable for gross negligence impacting anyone over the age of 13. He blames social media’s deep pockets as the reason Congress has…

People in this episode

Host: Frank Knapp

Guest: Brandon Guffey

Topics covered

• child protection
• digital threats
• sextortion
• artificial intelligence
• social media regulation
• mental health

Keywords

• sextortion
• digital threats
• child safety
• AI regulation
• social media
• mental health
• Brandon Guffey

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: President Trump, Congress, social media companies

Products: Chatbox AI

More episodes of Small Business "Backbone" Podcast

• Gubernatorial candidate Nancy Mace ready to take on data centers · May 29, 2026 · 14 min
• New report sheds negative light on South Carolina transparency on data center incentives · April 26, 2026 · 26 min
• Senator Leber on needed AI regulations: The longer we ignore it, the harder the fight is going to be. · March 18, 2026 · 23 min
• Senator Kennedy pushes for small business property tax relief · February 10, 2026 · 19 min
• Deepfake expert has warning for all politicians · February 9, 2026 · 27 min
• SC Professor talks about his experience in Minnesota · February 5, 2026 · 26 min