Parents of Scottish sextortion victim sue Instagram parent company Meta

The parents of Murray Dowey, a 16-year-old boy from Dunblane who took his own life after becoming a victim of sextortion on Instagram, have launched a lawsuit against Instagram’s parent company Meta in a US court.

The lawsuit alleges that newly unsealed filings from litigation against Meta in California prove the company knew as early as 2019 that Instagram was exposing children to predators but chose to “prioritize engagement and profit” over safety.  

Speaking to the BBC, Murray’s mother, Ros Dowey said: “We just feel that it is time that Meta were held accountable for what they've done to a lot of young people. There's evidence now that Meta knew at least five years before Murray died that their products weren't safe, there were design decisions that they made that were causing predators to easily find young people and then to be able to extort them."

Murray died in his home in December 2023 after he was targeted by scammers posing as a young girl. The scammers, who are thought to be located in West Africa, tricked him into sending intimate images of himself and then told him these photos would be exposed to his family if he did not transfer them money.

The lawsuit has been filed by The Social Media Victims Law Center, a legal advocacy organisation that supports families who have been affected by social media. The lawsuit has been filed in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware on behalf of Murray's parents and an American woman, Tricia Maciejewski. Her son, Levi Maciejewski, took his own life at 13 years old, two days after opening an Instagram account.  

When asked for comment, a Meta spokesperson told Holyrood: “Sextortion is a horrific crime. We support law enforcement to prosecute the criminals behind it and we continue to fight them on our apps on multiple fronts.”

Since 2021, Meta says it has placed teenagers who are aged under 16 into private accounts when they sign up for Instagram, meaning they have to approve new followers. Meta also said that the company works to prevent suspicious accounts from contacting teenagers, along with a raft of other age-specific safety measures.

In 2024, First Minister John Swinney pledged to make protecting children online a priority for his government.  

Asked at FMQs about the case, Swinney said: “I cannot, as the parent of a teenager, comprehend the scale of loss, the unimaginable suffering that they [Murray’s parents] are experiencing but I commend their bravery in raising the awareness of the threat of sextortion which has had a terrible impact on their family. They have my deepest sympathy for the loss that they have experienced and the commitment from my government to do all that we can to protect young people”.

Despite this commitment, Jo Farrell, the chief constable of Police Scotland, has said that reports of online child abuse have more than doubled since 2024.  

Farrel said: “Last year we received just in excess of 700 notifications in relation to suspicions, information and intelligence around online harm relating to children. In just one year, that has increased to nearly 1,500.”

To keep children safe online, Police Scotland recommends that parents monitor their children’s online activity, emphasise the importance of responsible sharing and have regular, open conversations about the child’s experiences online.