Murray Dowey, from Dunblane, was only 16 when he ended his life last year.

Summary

Parents of a British teenager who died by suicide after being blackmailed by sextortion criminals in Nigeria appeal to the perpetrators to stop targeting vulnerable individuals.

They also criticize social media companies for not doing enough to protect young people from this crime.

The Dowey family will participate in a campaign to inform young people about the risks of sextortion and provide support to victims.

  • chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.worldEnglish
    132·
    6 hours ago

    When we created the internet we achieved global unity, but we just… stopped. There is no NATO for cybercrimes. We can’t punish across borders, and we can’t rely on countries where cybercrime is a not insignificant portion of their economy to do the right thing. At this point the best we can do is bar the doors and keep children and other vulnerable people off the internet, but that is hardly a proper solution. We need to work together on a global scale to hold countries accountable for what their citizens do on the internet. If we don’t, we might as well just pull the plug on it, because this shit has only been getting worse.

    • interurbain1er@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      18·
      3 hours ago

      The US and the UK place near the top as a source of cyber criminal above Nigeria so I’m guessing they should be barred from accessing the internet first right ?

      Or maybe you’re just being racist.

      • nogooduser@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 hours ago

        I think that you need to reread the comment that you replied to because you got the wrong end of the stick on that one.

        They were talking about barring kids and vulnerable people from accessing the internet so that the bad guys can’t get to them.

        No racism involved at all.

      • chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 hours ago

        Wow, you’re just trying to stir up shit, huh?

        Let me quote myself so you can see just how terrible your reading comprehension is.

        We need to work together on a global scale to hold countries accountable for what their citizens do on the internet.

        Did I mention barring anyone from the internet? Nope. Sure didn’t. What I said was that countries need to be held accountable for what their citizens do on a global scale when it comes to the internet just like they are in any other situation. I’m not saying only other counties. I’m not saying only African countries. So, please, take your bullshit and go feed it to someone else, because I don’t have the patience for it.