The family of a teenage boy who took his own life after being blackmailed on Instagram are suing the platform’s owner Meta.<\/p>\n
Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.<\/p>\n
Murray Dowey, from Dunblane in Scotland<\/a>, was just 16 years old when he became a victim of online sextortion in December 2023.<\/p>\n His parents, Mark and Ros Dowey, have now launched legal action against Meta<\/a> in a US court alongside another family amid claims the tech giant failed to protect children on its platforms.<\/p>\n Lawyers are alleging the company “knew of safety features that would prevent sextortion” but instead “prioritised profit”.<\/p>\n Mrs Dowey told Sky News there is a “growing army of parents” who have suffered “unimaginable pain” due to social media platforms.<\/p>\n She added: “We’ve lost the most precious thing. We’ve got nothing left to lose.<\/p>\n “We will see this through to the end because the worst thing that could happen to us has already happened.”<\/p>\n Meta, which also owns Facebook, branded sextortion a “horrific crime” and said it supports law enforcement to prosecute the criminals behind it.<\/p>\n The firm added: “We continue to fight them on our apps on multiple fronts.”<\/p>\n It is believed Murray was exploited by criminals in West Africa, who posed as a young girl.<\/p>\n The teenager was tricked into sending intimate images of himself and was told they would be exposed to his family if he failed to pay.<\/p>\n Mrs Dowey branded the scammers “scum”.<\/p>\n She added: “Murray was absolutely fine when he went up to his room that night. He was talking about going to football the next day, talking about his holiday with his friends.<\/p>\n “It literally happened in the space of a few hours in his bedroom where he should have been the safest.<\/p>\n “There was no opportunity for us to intervene or notice something was wrong because he didn’t come through for whatever reason.<\/p>\n “He went from absolutely fine to dead the next morning.”<\/p>\n Read more from Sky News: Mrs Dowey described her son as a “lovely, funny, kind boy who had everything to live for”.<\/p>\n The Stirling Albion FC supporter loved going out with his friends and was expected to go on to university after secondary school.<\/p>\n Mrs Dowey said: “We’re just all devastated. He’s got an older and a younger brother, so he was the middle peacemaker between them.<\/p>\n “Everything we do, we’re aware there’s a seat empty that should be Murray. And that’s going to be for the rest of our lives as his brothers graduate, as they get married, as they have children.<\/p>\n “It’s been horrific to have gone from a completely normal family to having to live with this for the rest of our lives.”<\/p>\n The lawsuit has been filed by the Social Media Victims Law Centre (SMVLC).<\/p>\n The Doweys have been named alongside Tricia Maciejewski, from Pennsylvania<\/a>, whose son Levi took his own life at the age of 13.<\/p>\n
There’s one big problem with Australia’s social media ban<\/a><\/p>\n