releases: https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2025/9/technology/video-blackburn-speaks-with-father-who-lost-his-son-after-instagram-sextortion-scheme
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2025/9/technology/video-blackburn-speaks-with-father-who-lost-his-son-after-instagram-sextortion-scheme | VIDEO: Blackburn Speaks with Father Who Lost His Son After Instagram Sextortion Scheme | 2025-09-05 | 2025 | 2025-09 | Republican | Senate | TN | Marsha Blackburn | B001243 | www.blackburn.senate.gov | blackburn | https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0 | scraper | NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released a new episode of ‘Unmuted with Marsha’ with Brian Montgomery, a father who tragically lost his 16-year-old son, Walker, to suicide after he was mercilessly sextorted on Instagram. Brian is a major advocate for Senator Blackburn’s Kids Online Safety Act and successfully fought to pass two bills named after his son in his home state of Mississippi. On Tuesday, Senator Blackburn will lead a hearing examining whistleblower allegations that Meta buried child safety research. She recently demanded Meta shut down its Instagram “map” feature and called for an investigation following a bombshell report that Meta’s internal AI rules allowed chatbots to engage in sensual conversations with children. Click hereto watch and click here to download this episode of ‘Unmuted with Marsha.’ “Meta is using our children as a product. They’re making money off of them. They are selling their information. So, if you have a child or a grandchild, when they are online, they are the product… I want to welcome Brian Montgomery to Unmuted. Brian, I just want to say thank you. You've had this personal tragedy, and you've made safety of our children really a mission set, keeping our kids safe in the virtual space. And your son Walker took his life, and I want you just to talk a little bit about Walker and why it is so important to you that you have taken on this cause,” said Senator Blackburn. “When Walker went to bed the night of November the 30th, what we assumed was just a very normal night, and what we later found out that it was a normal night until midnight when somebody, when some predator from across the world attacked Walker through social media… In the course of two to four hours, Walker went from just going to bed on a normal night to having taken his own life,” said Montgomery. RELATED Blackburn, Grassley, Hawley Demand Answers on Meta’s Emotional Targeting of Children, Repeated Alleged Failures to Comply with Child Privacy Law ICYMI in Reuters: Blackburn Shreds Meta After Bombshell Report Reveals Company’s AI Rules Allowed Bots to Engage in ‘Sensual’ Chats with Kids Blackburn, Blumenthal Urge Meta to Shut Down Instagram Map Feature to Protect Kids from Pedophiles & Traffickers Blackburn, Blumenthal Demand Accountability from Meta Following Bombshell Report Detailing Latest Failures to Protect Minors from Harm | 1 | 2026-03-30T01:40:41Z | 2026-04-06T19:10:29Z |