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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Heather Hollingswsorth and Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos

Parents see hope in back-to-back rulings that social media providers failed to protect young users

US Social Media Trials Parents - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Walker Montgomery was just 16 when someone pretending to be a teenage girl messaged him through Instagram and seduced him into cybersex.

Within hours he was dead. Caught up in a sextortion scheme, the Mississippi teen killed himself.

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