Families Take Legal Action Against Meta for Teen Suicides Tied to Instagram Sextortion Scams
FOX Business correspondent Madison Alworth discusses allegations against Meta accusing them of burying evidence that their social media platforms cause harm and ignoring opportunities to implement safeguards on the ‘The Evening Edit.’
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
In a troubling development, two families have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, following the tragic suicides of their sons. The families argue that Meta failed to implement necessary safeguards to protect teenagers from sextortion schemes prevalent on Instagram.
Tricia Maciejewski from Pennsylvania and Rosalind and Mark Downey from Scotland filed the lawsuit on Wednesday. They claim that their sons fell victim to a common sextortion scheme where a stranger poses as a romantic interest on social media, soliciting nude photos from the teenager. Once the images are received, the perpetrator threatens to share them with friends and family unless the victim complies with further demands for more images or money.
Meta is currently facing at least four other lawsuits related to sextortion, with claims that the company ignored complaints about these schemes for years. The families allege that their sons’ deaths were a direct result of Meta’s design decisions and its repeated refusal to implement available safety features, prioritizing user engagement over the safety of its users.
META TO ALLOW TEENS’ PARENTS TO DISABLE CHATS WITH AI AFTER BACKLASH OVER FLIRTY CHATBOTS
Two families filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Meta over their sons’ suicides. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Levi Maciejewski, 13, died by suicide in 2024, while Murray Downey, 16, took his life in 2023. Both boys were victims of sextortion schemes on Instagram. The families assert that Meta was aware its recommendation system was connecting children with potential predators but failed to adequately address the issue.
In a 2022 internal audit, it was revealed that Instagram’s “Accounts You May Follow” feature suggested 1.4 million accounts to teenage users in a single day, many of which were potentially engaging in inappropriate interactions with minors. Despite recommendations from Meta’s safety researchers in 2019 to set all teenage accounts to private by default, the company declined to implement this change until late last year, after the tragic deaths of the boys.
In 2021, Meta announced new restrictions on direct messaging between teenagers and adults they do not follow. However, the lawsuit argues that these changes were insufficient and only applied to new teenage accounts, failing to represent a true default setting.
Levi Maciejewski, 13, and Murray Downey, 16, were victims of sextortion schemes and died by suicide. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
The families contend that Meta did not fully implement “private-by-default” settings and other necessary safeguards for teenage accounts until late last year, after their sons’ tragic deaths. Matthew Bergman, the founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center representing the families, stated, “Meta’s secret is out. For years, Meta knew Instagram was a hunting ground for predators, yet chose to protect engagement metrics over children’s lives.” He emphasized that the company’s decision to connect random strangers to children has resulted in devastating consequences for families.
In response to the lawsuit, Meta did not directly address the claims but reiterated its commitment to combating sextortion. A spokesperson stated, “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.”
Meta said it was working to stop sextortion scammers. (Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Meta emphasized its ongoing efforts to prevent accounts exhibiting suspicious behavior from following teenagers and to avoid recommending such accounts. The company also mentioned precautionary measures like blurring potentially sensitive images sent in direct messages and reminding teens of the risks associated with sharing them.
Despite claiming to have given teenagers under 16 private accounts at sign-up since 2021, the lawsuit argues that Meta did not automatically apply these settings until last year. While Instagram has introduced some changes aimed at curbing sextortion, the lawsuit asserts that these measures came too late and that the platform should be held accountable for the tragic suicides of the two teenagers.
FOX Business correspondent Madison Alworth discusses allegations against Meta accusing them of burying evidence that their social media platforms cause harm and ignoring opportunities to implement safeguards on the ‘The Evening Edit.’
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
In a troubling development, two families have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, following the tragic suicides of their sons. The families argue that Meta failed to implement necessary safeguards to protect teenagers from sextortion schemes prevalent on Instagram.
Tricia Maciejewski from Pennsylvania and Rosalind and Mark Downey from Scotland filed the lawsuit on Wednesday. They claim that their sons fell victim to a common sextortion scheme where a stranger poses as a romantic interest on social media, soliciting nude photos from the teenager. Once the images are received, the perpetrator threatens to share them with friends and family unless the victim complies with further demands for more images or money.
Meta is currently facing at least four other lawsuits related to sextortion, with claims that the company ignored complaints about these schemes for years. The families allege that their sons’ deaths were a direct result of Meta’s design decisions and its repeated refusal to implement available safety features, prioritizing user engagement over the safety of its users.
META TO ALLOW TEENS’ PARENTS TO DISABLE CHATS WITH AI AFTER BACKLASH OVER FLIRTY CHATBOTS
Two families filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Meta over their sons’ suicides. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Levi Maciejewski, 13, died by suicide in 2024, while Murray Downey, 16, took his life in 2023. Both boys were victims of sextortion schemes on Instagram. The families assert that Meta was aware its recommendation system was connecting children with potential predators but failed to adequately address the issue.
In a 2022 internal audit, it was revealed that Instagram’s “Accounts You May Follow” feature suggested 1.4 million accounts to teenage users in a single day, many of which were potentially engaging in inappropriate interactions with minors. Despite recommendations from Meta’s safety researchers in 2019 to set all teenage accounts to private by default, the company declined to implement this change until late last year, after the tragic deaths of the boys.
In 2021, Meta announced new restrictions on direct messaging between teenagers and adults they do not follow. However, the lawsuit argues that these changes were insufficient and only applied to new teenage accounts, failing to represent a true default setting.
Levi Maciejewski, 13, and Murray Downey, 16, were victims of sextortion schemes and died by suicide. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
The families contend that Meta did not fully implement “private-by-default” settings and other necessary safeguards for teenage accounts until late last year, after their sons’ tragic deaths. Matthew Bergman, the founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center representing the families, stated, “Meta’s secret is out. For years, Meta knew Instagram was a hunting ground for predators, yet chose to protect engagement metrics over children’s lives.” He emphasized that the company’s decision to connect random strangers to children has resulted in devastating consequences for families.
In response to the lawsuit, Meta did not directly address the claims but reiterated its commitment to combating sextortion. A spokesperson stated, “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.”
Meta said it was working to stop sextortion scammers. (Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Meta emphasized its ongoing efforts to prevent accounts exhibiting suspicious behavior from following teenagers and to avoid recommending such accounts. The company also mentioned precautionary measures like blurring potentially sensitive images sent in direct messages and reminding teens of the risks associated with sharing them.
Despite claiming to have given teenagers under 16 private accounts at sign-up since 2021, the lawsuit argues that Meta did not automatically apply these settings until last year. While Instagram has introduced some changes aimed at curbing sextortion, the lawsuit asserts that these measures came too late and that the platform should be held accountable for the tragic suicides of the two teenagers.
