Parents of sextortion victim sue Instagram owner Meta
BBCA Scottish couple whose teenage son committed suicide after being blackmailed on Instagram are suing the platform’s owner, Meta. This case is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK.
Murray Dowey, from Dunblane, was 16 when he became the victim of sextortion in December 2023.
His family took legal action against Meta in a US court, seeking punitive damages, claiming Instagram was unsafe.
Meta, which also owns Facebook, was contacted for comment. He previously said he was making changes to the platform to protect children.
Murray died at his home in Dunblane in December 2023 after being targeted by fraudsters posing as teenage girls.
She was tricked into sending private photos of herself and was told they would be disclosed to her family if she did not pay.
Her parents’ attorneys claim Meta “knew about security features that would prevent sextortion” before her death and instead “prioritized profit.”
The company has previously announced real changes to Instagram, such as offering teen accounts with built-in protections and giving parents the power to control their children’s online experiences.
To talk BBC newsMurray’s mother Ros said: “The worst thing that could have happened to us has happened. There’s nothing Meta can do that’s worse than what happened, so we’re up for the challenge.”
“We’ll take it as far as we can.”
The case, brought by the Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC) on behalf of Mark and Ros Dowey, is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.
Murray’s parents’ names appear next to a woman from Pennsylvania named Tricia Maciejewski. His son, Levi Maciejewski, committed suicide when he was 13 years old.
Sex blackmail has become big business in Nigeria, involving thousands of young people nicknamed “yahoo boys”.
Guides on how to get involved in crime are openly sold online, BBC News research finds appeared earlier this year.
