The family of a teenage boy who took his own life after being blackmailed on Instagram are suing the platform’s owner Meta.
Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.
Murray Dowey, from Dunblane in Scotland, was just 16 years old when he became a victim of online sextortion in December 2023.
His parents, Mark and Ros Dowey, have now launched legal action against Meta in a US court alongside another family amid claims the tech giant failed to protect children on its platforms.
Lawyers are alleging the company “knew of safety features that would prevent sextortion” but instead “prioritised profit”.
Mrs Dowey told Sky News there is a “growing army of parents” who have suffered “unimaginable pain” due to social media platforms.
She added: “We’ve lost the most precious thing. We’ve got nothing left to lose.
“We will see this through to the end because the worst thing that could happen to us has already happened.”
Meta, which also owns Facebook, branded sextortion a “horrific crime” and said it supports law enforcement to prosecute the criminals behind it.
The firm added: “We continue to fight them on our apps on multiple fronts.”
It is believed Murray was exploited by criminals in West Africa, who posed as a young girl.
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.
Mrs Dowey branded the scammers “scum”.
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.
“It literally happened in the space of a few hours in his bedroom where he should have been the safest.
“There was no opportunity for us to intervene or notice something was wrong because he didn’t come through for whatever reason.
“He went from absolutely fine to dead the next morning.”
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Mrs Dowey described her son as a “lovely, funny, kind boy who had everything to live for”.
The Stirling Albion FC supporter loved going out with his friends and was expected to go on to university after secondary school.
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.
“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.
“It’s been horrific to have gone from a completely normal family to having to live with this for the rest of our lives.”
The lawsuit has been filed by the Social Media Victims Law Centre (SMVLC).
The Doweys have been named alongside Tricia Maciejewski, from Pennsylvania, whose son Levi took his own life at the age of 13.
Meta highlighted a number of its safety features which aims to combat potentially suspicious adults and potential sextortion accounts, which includes a new block and report option in DMs.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “Since 2021, we’ve placed teens under 16 into private accounts when they sign up for Instagram, which means they have to approve any new followers.
“We work to prevent accounts showing suspicious behaviour from following teens and avoid recommending teens to them.
“We also take other precautionary steps, like blurring potentially sensitive images sent in DMs and reminding teens of the risks of sharing them, and letting people know when they’re chatting to someone who may be in a different country.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.
