Meta releases sextortion data after death of Scottish teenager

Tech company Meta has shared data relating to teenager Murray Dowey, who committed suicide after falling victim to a sextortion gang on Instagram.

Meta, owner of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, confirmed that it is now cooperating with authorities and responding to all data requests.

Police Scotland have confirmed they have received the relevant data.

It comes after Murray's mother, Ros Dowey, accused the company of “unforgivable behavior” after failing to share her son's account information.

The 16-year-old from Dunblane took his own life last December after being tricked into sending compromising photos to criminals posing as a girl on the social media app.

As of Wednesday, Meta had not shared the information despite a request from Police Scotland and a court order, Ms Dowey said. BBC News.

She explained that the U.S. Department of Justice obtained a court order requesting the data on May 1, 2024, but that Meta had not yet responded.

Ms Dowey said Meta was not doing “enough to safeguard and protect our children when they use their platforms” and accused the company of “unforgivable behavior” by “obstructing the investigation”.

She said the company appeared unwilling “to cooperate with international law enforcement when things go horribly wrong.”

“How many other children could the abuser who pushed Murray to kill himself have tormented since Murray died?” she asked.

Ms Dowey also called on former Lib Dem leader Sir Nick Clegg, who is now chairman of Meta's global affairs, to “fix this”.

The announcement follows Prime Minister John Swinney's pledge to tackle sextortion. During FMQs earlier this month, he said keeping children safe online would be a priority for his government.

Talk to BBC Newsa spokesperson for Meta said:

“We have cooperated fully with law enforcement in this investigation, including responding to any requests for data.”

Cases of sextortion are increasingly common, accounting for two-thirds of reports to the Revenge Porn Helpline in 2023.

Meanwhile, a study by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, covering the period between 2017 and 2023, found that at least one in 20 children have been exposed to sexual risk or harm online . This equates to more than 630,000 children.

Earlier this year Holyrood spoke to one of the 26 girls victimized by West Sussex pedophile Jordan Croft.

Aoife was targeted by the criminal six years ago, when she was around 14 or 15 years old.

After sending sexual images to Croft, believing him to be a boy her age, he revealed his age and began to coerce and threaten Aoife into complying with his demands.

“What I remember about that night was that it was like a fight to let him [the abuser] let me sleep. He didn't think I would have school the next day and he really felt like he had to give me permission to go to sleep,” she said. Holyrood.