<\/p>\n
A Scottish couple whose teenage son took his own life after being blackmailed on Instagram are suing the platform’s owner Meta, in what’s thought to be the first UK case of its kind.<\/p>\n
Murray Dowey, from Dunblane, was 16 when he became a victim of sextortion in December 2023.<\/p>\n
His parents have now launched legal action against Meta in a US court seeking punitive damages claiming that Instagram was not safe.<\/p>\n
Meta, which also owns Facebook, said it supports law enforcement to prosecute the criminals behind sextortion, adding “we continue to fight them on our apps on multiple fronts”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It is thought Murray had been tricked by criminals in West Africa.<\/p>\n
Murray died in his home in Dunblane in December 2023 after he was targeted by scammers posing as a young girl. <\/p>\n
He was tricked into sending intimate images of himself and told they would be exposed to his family if he did not pay.<\/p>\n
Lawyers for his parents are now claiming Meta “knew of safety features that would prevent sextortion” prior to his death and instead “prioritised profit”.<\/p>\n
Previously the company has said it had made real changes to Instagram, such as introducing teen accounts with built-in protections and giving parents the power to control their children’s online experiences.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n