The mother of a Potsdam teenager who took his life in an online sextortion scam in 2021 was interviewed and quoted by numerous nationwide media Wednesday.

Mary Rodee was in  Washington, D.C. to attend a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing featuring CEOs from major social media platforms, including Meta, TikTok, Discord, and Snap, who addressed their companies' roles in safeguarding children online. 

Her son, Riley Basford, was a student at Potsdam Central High School who tragically took his own life after being extorted as part of a sextortion campaign by evil actors online, according to officials with the State Police and Department of Homeland Security.

Among the interviews were an NBC-tv News report broadcast locally at 6:30 p.m

Here are links to some of the other nationwide reports:

• Fox News: Mother speaks out on danger of social media after losing son due to sexual exploitation https://www.foxnews.com/video/6345934914112
• Hill News: Zuckerberg breaks from hearing, apologizes to families victimized by social media, https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4440060-zuckerberg-apologies-social-media-victims-meta-senate-hearing/
• New York Times: ‘Your Product Is Killing People’: Tech Leaders Denounced Over Child Safety https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/technology/senate-child-safety-social-media.html
• USA Today:  'It killed him': Families of victims of big tech, present at Senate hearing, share their stories  https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2024/01/31/big-tech-hearing-victims/72429122007/