Apple Faces Lawsuit Over Teen Suicides Linked to Sextortion Scams

The families of two teenage boys, Levi Maciejewski from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and Murray Dowey from Dunblane, Scotland, have filed a lawsuit against Meta on allegations that the company ignored the dangers of sexual blackmail scams on Instagram.

According to NBC News, the lawsuit claims that both boys fell victim to similar sextortion schemes, where a stranger pretended to be a romantic interest, solicited intimate photos, and threatened to share those images unless the teens paid an extortion fee.

The suit, filed on Wednesday, argues that Meta has been negligent in dealing with sextortion problems and cites internal documents indicating the company was aware of the risks. The lawsuit points to the deaths of Levi, who died at age 13 less than 48 hours after signing up for Instagram, and Murray, who died at age 16 in 2023.

Meta, while not addressing the lawsuit directly, stated that they are actively working to combat sextortion and have taken steps such as placing accounts of users under 16 into private settings. However, the lawsuit disputes these claims, asserting that such measures were not implemented until 2024.

The situation has sparked broader concerns regarding the safety of minors on social media, with increasing scrutiny on how platforms like Instagram manage user safety and mental health. The issue has drawn attention from Congress, and recently, Australia became the first country to ban individuals under 16 from social media platforms.

The families' lawyer, Matthew Bergman, emphasized that the design choices made by Meta prioritized profits over the safety of young users, labeling the tragedies as foreseeable consequences of these decisions.