VIDEO: Blackburn Speaks with Mom Who Lost Her Child to Suicide After He Was Targeted in Sextortion Scheme
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) spoke with Tamia Woods, whose only son tragically died by suicide in 2022 after he was sexually extorted, about the importance of kids’ online safety. Senator Blackburn has led the charge to pass the Kids Online Safety Act to stop Big Tech from turning a blind eye while criminals use their platforms to prey on innocent children like James Woods.
Click here to download Senator Blackburn’s exchange with Tamia Woods on protecting kids online.
On the Need to Pass the Senate Version of the Kids Online Safety Act
Senator Blackburn: “There are laws in the physical space that protect children. You cannot endanger a child, you can’t sell them alcohol, you can’t sell them tobacco, you cannot expose them to pornography. If you were a liquor store and you were selling to kids, they would padlock your store and take away your license. But in the virtual space, our children are vulnerable 24/7, 365”.
“Ms. Woods, I’m just heartbroken for you as a mother and a grandmother and having teenage grandsons. This is a fear, an absolute fear, that parents have because the sextortion schemes and the targeting of young boys. It’s like something that happens within a matter of hours and days.”
“Your son… was literally cyberbullied to death, and this is why we need to pass the Kids Online Safety Act. Ms. Woods, talk about why these platforms should be required to force safety by design and to put that burden on these social media platforms to root out these bad actors.”
Tamia Woods: “Did anyone know that on Google, if your child is 12 years old, and once they turn 13, Google directly messages your child and tells them that they no longer need parental control, and they can click here to opt out?”
“Parental controls are not enough… The other thing too is that by social media actually making sure that we have laws… making sure that our we can monitor our kids better… Like when my son said, ‘I’m going to kill myself,’ it would have alerted me. It would have alerted any parent that had lost their children’s lives, and it would have told me something’s wrong.”
“I wish that, even today, three years later, that I would have known half of the things that I would have had, or even be put in a position where I could have taught my son to come to us.”
On the Need for Parents to Talk to Their Kids About Child Exploitation
Senator Blackburn: “So what advice would you give to parents right now, sitting there today?”
Tamia Woods: “Talk to your children about sextortion and any other child exploitation. I knew nothing about it. Every parent that lives here today that has a child has a privilege I did not have… I would give anything to have my son back, and if they have to learn, if they have to see James’ faith, if they have to see my tears, I’m going to make sure that it happens. If it means that I can save your grandchildren, I’m going to do it.”
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