Two families sue Meta over teens' deaths by suicide, citing 'sextortion' scams

The families of two boys who died by suicide filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging that the company ignored the rising danger of sexual blackmail on Instagram.

Warning: This article includes descriptions of self-harm.

The families of two teenage boys who died by suicide filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Meta, alleging that the tech company has ignored the rising danger of sexual blackmail schemes targeting teens on Instagram.

The families, who are from Pennsylvania and Scotland, said in the lawsuit that their boys fell victim to the same type of “sextortion” scam thousands of miles apart: A stranger contacts a teen on Instagram pretending to be a romantic interest, solicits nude or intimate photos and then threatens to share the images with friends and family unless the teen shares more or pays an extortion fee.

The lawsuit is the latest attempt to hold Instagram accountable for what some users say are lethal scams that take place on its platform. Meta, which owns Instagram, is facing at least four other sextortion-related lawsuits that claim that Instagram is a defective product and has been negligent by not dealing with a sextortion problem for years.

The lawyers behind the latest suit said they plan to draw on a newly available trove of internal corporate records from Meta to bolster their case.