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A Scottish family is pursuing legal action against Meta, the company behind Instagram, following the tragic suicide of their teenage son who was a victim of online blackmail. Murray Dowey, aged 16 and from Dunblane, took his own life in December 2023 after being targeted by sextortion scams on the social media platform. This case is believed to be the first in the UK to sue Meta over such circumstances.
The young boy was deceived by scammers posing as a young girl, who coerced him into sharing explicit images. He was then threatened with having these photos revealed to his family if he did not comply with demands for money. Murray’s parents assert that Meta had been aware of existing safety measures that could have prevented this exploitation but chose to prioritize profits instead of implementing stronger protections.
Meta, which also owns Facebook, has previously stated that it introduced new safeguards aimed at protecting younger users. These include creating teen accounts equipped with built-in security features and tools that enable parents to monitor and control their children’s online activities. Despite these measures, Murray’s parents, Mark and Ros Dowey, have filed a lawsuit in a US court seeking punitive damages, determined to pursue the matter vigorously.
Alongside the Doweys, another case is involved featuring a mother from Pennsylvania, Tricia Maciejewski, whose 13-year-old son Levi also died by suicide under similar circumstances. The broader issue of sextortion is notably widespread in Nigeria, where thousands of young men known as “yahoo boys” are engaged in such criminal activities. Online guides for committing sextortion are openly available for purchase, according to an investigation conducted by BBC News earlier this year
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