The mother of a Port Coquitlam student who took her life after being cyberbullied and sextorted filed a lawsuit today, Oct. 10, against several social media giants.
The civil action against Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, as well as TikTok, YouTube, Google, Snap and Discord comes on the same day Carol Todd’s daughter, Amanda, took her life 12 years ago.
The lawsuit also lands on World Mental Health Day in which many landmarks and public spaces around B.C. will be lit purple, including Coquitlam's Lafarge Lake fountain, the SkyTrain guideway and city halls.
Filed in the Superior Court of California, in the county of Los Angeles, the legal suit names the plaintiffs as Carol Todd, a School District 43 educator, and 10 other Canadian and American parents whose children were cyberbullied and extorted online, and died.
They include (in alphabetical order):
- Carl Burke and Barbie Lavers
- for Carl Harry Burke
- Jennifer Markus
- for Braden Markus
- Bradley Richardson
- for Tyler Richardson
- Amanda Zimmer
- for Owen Zimmer
In the 74-page complaint filed on Oct. 10, 2024, which was obtained by the Tri-City News via the Social Media Victims Law Center in Seattle, Carol Todd alleges "Meta enabled and allowed for the sextortion of children as a matter of platform design and operation" and "Meta and Snap connect predators to young children and are designed in a manner that leaves victims with no means to prevent or protect themselves; further encouraging, allowing and exacerbating these serious harms."
Last December, a panel of judges at an Amsterdam courthouse converted Aydin Coban's Canadian sentence of 13 years in jail to six years behind Dutch bars.
In October 2022, BC Supreme Court Judge Martha Devlin sentenced the then-45-year-old man after a jury found him guilty on all five charges:
- extortion
- importing and distributing child pornography
- possession of child pornography
- communicating with the intent to lure a child
- criminal harassment
However, at sentencing, the Crown asked for a judicial stay on the third conviction.
Todd, 15, took her life in 2012 after being tormented for years online by Coban, who used 22 aliases to hide his identity and to harass her family and friends via four social media channels.
Global mental health
The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day focuses on the workplace.
Tsuyoshi Akiyama, president of the World Federation For Mental Health, said the COVID-19 pandemic “pulled the curtain back on the dramatic need to address mental health issues in the workplace.”
"Today, around the world, enlightened leaders strive to meet their duty of care, recognizing that addressing the mental health needs of their workforce is not only beneficial for individuals but also for healthy and high-performing organizations."
The World Health Organization (WHO) added that “unhealthy conditions including stigma, discrimination, and exposure to risks like harassment and other poor working conditions, can pose significant risks, affecting mental health, overall quality of life and consequently participation or productivity at work.”
Meanwhile, the Amanda Todd Legacy Society is ending its eighth annual online fundraiser on Monday, Oct. 14. To bid on an item or to donate to the Port Coquitlam nonprofit, visit the group’s website.
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