Child Sextortion on the Rise in Alaska
The March 25 ruling in Los Angeles, California, against Meta and Google for intentionally creating addictive social media platforms is a legal victory that followed another, less significant ruling in New Mexico the day before. In Alaska, the FBI is warning of a rise in cases of child sextortion.The New Mexico ruling holds Meta liable for endangering children and exposing them to sexually explicit material and contact with sexual predators. The Los Angeles ruling orders the two tech giants to pay a 20-year-old woman $6 million in damages (70% Meta, 30% Google), because when she was only six years old she began using YouTube (Google) and at nine, Instagram (Meta), and never faced access restrictions due to her age, but her addiction caused her serious subsequent disorders.
Meta and Google “acted with malice,” according to the Los Angeles court ruling, which must determine further damages to the young woman from her childhood and which, under California law, could result in a $30 million award. In early 2026, Snapchat and TikTok reached pre-trial settlements in California to avoid being found liable. A new trial against Meta and other social media platforms is scheduled for June, also in California. Trevor Storrs tells Sol de Medianoche: “We don’t believe the rulings are over; my prediction is that there will be more. But that’s just that—a prediction.” Storrs is president and CEO of the Alaska Children’s Trust (ACT), an organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect in Alaska. In the United States, 40% of two-year-olds own a tablet, according to a 2024 national survey by Common Sense Media of 1,578 parents of children eight years old or younger. A concerning statistic. Trevor Storrs says that “it’s important for parents to understand the risks; the skills their children need to protect themselves; and the importance of traditional habits, such as reading a physical book.” “A child without a device may feel socially excluded, and no parent can solve this alone,” says Storrs. “Families must take action with laws that support them. Wait Until 8th helps delay the acquisition of smartphones until 8th grade. The key is for families at the same school to act in unison, eliminating the fear that their children will be the only ones without a device. There are phones for making calls and sending text messages without access to social media or the internet, to keep children connected with their friends, but without the risks.” Trevor Storrs concludes that “social media addiction poses fatal risks (suicide, cyberbullying, sextortion, body shaming, sex trafficking…). Youth suicide is the second leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 34, and addictive social media use exacerbates it. Alaska faces this crisis with particular severity. Young people aged 15 to 24, are committing suicide at a rate three times higher than the national average, and the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that 19% of high school students had attempted suicide in the past year—more than double the rate in 2011. The FBI in Anchorage has documented a sharp increase in sextortion targeting minors in Alaska.” |