Nearing the anniversary of the death of 15-year-old Bryce Tate in a sextortion case that shocked the state, West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc., the maker of the popular social media site Snapchat.
The lawsuit claims the company deceived West Virginia parents and children about the safety of its platform while knowing it exposed young users to sexual exploitation, harmful content and compulsive-use design.
Lawmakers who gathered at a press conference with the attorney general also said they would pursue additional policy changes aimed at protecting minors.
Tate, who had been a sophomore at Nitro High School, died last Nov. 6.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said an investigation into his cellphone revealed he had been the victim of sextortion, a form of online exploitation where offenders coerce or manipulate victims into sending sensitive or intimate images, often threatening to share them.
Deputies said the communication began that day about 4:30 p.m. and continued until minutes before his death.
“The predator reached Bryce while he was at the gym after school, posing as a 17-year-old girl who knew him. This person shared enough accurate details to seem real. After Bryce sent photos, the false romance ended, and the blackmail began,” McCuskey said.
“The predator demanded $500 and threatened to expose the images that had been sent to his family and to the public. Bryce offered every dollar he had, $30, but that wasn’t enough. The predator sent roughly 120 messages in 20 minutes and set a deadline for releasing the images. The predator told Bryce there was no way out and pressured him to take his own life.”
The attorney general said the predator reached Tate on Snapchat and contended the platform has made it easy for predators to reach minors.
The complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court alleges that Snap marketed Snapchat to children and parents as safe while its own internal records showed otherwise.
Tate’s family joined officials to launch a new Shield Initiative funded by consumer education dollars from previous tech settlements. The statewide awareness campaign aims to teach students, parents and educators how to recognize online dangers. The program centers on a three-step guide for victims: Stop communication, Screenshot evidence and Show Someone trusted.
“These crimes happen so quickly. You know, from the initial conversation to the time my son was ultimately gone was three hours. So, oftentimes there are no red flags. You know, you think from a parent’s perspective that, you know, “I know my my child well enough that I will pick up on some cues where something seems off,’ but that’s just not the case.
“We know of we know of cases that happen as quickly as 20 minutes. So you can do all the right things. My wife and I, we had a very loving household, open conversation. We monitor what my son did on social media platforms. We did all the right things if you look at it on paper, but it still wasn’t well enough to protect our son,” Adam Tate said.
State lawmakers say they intend to pursue policies that would penalize sadistic online predation resulting in a victim’s death with a life sentence.
“Sadistic online exploitation is something that doesn’t involve extorting someone for money or anything of value. It simply involves trying to convince another person to harm or kill themselves through online predation,” said House Judiciary Chairman J.B. Akers, R-Kanawha.
“If you are found guilty of sadistic online exploitation in West Virginia, and that results in the death of your victim, then you’ll get life in prison as well. You take a life, you’re going to get life.”