US New Mexico sues Snapchat over alleged failure to prevent child sexual exploitation – LEGAL

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc. (Snap) on Thursday, accusing the social media service of failing to protect minors from sexual exploitation and having addictive design features.

Torrez alleged in the complaint that Snapchat is “a breeding ground for predators,” stating:

Snap and Snapchat … are among the most harmful purveyors of child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”) and harmful features on children’s electronic devices. Virtually every aspect of the service is designed to attract and addict young people. Moreover, Snap’s design and algorithmic recommendations openly promote and facilitate illegal child sexual material and facilitate sextortion and the trafficking of children, drugs and weapons.

Torrez addressed specific concerns about certain design features and policy choices of the platform, alleging that Snap’s systems cannot accurately verify the true age of users. He alleged that the platform lacked effective parental controls for monitoring and reporting activity. Torrez further accused Snap of “creating algorithms and features that connect child abusers with children.”

The complaint also alleged that Snap knowingly misled the public about the platform’s safety and design features, which “makes Snap’s conduct unfair, deceptive, and unreasonable.” New Mexico specifically alleged that Snap knew about the problem of “sextortion” on Snapchat but failed to warn its underage users and their parents or guardians. Torrez further stated:

Snap has tricked users into believing that photos and videos posted to its platform will disappear. But scammers are able to permanently preserve this content, creating a virtual yearbook of child pornography images that are being traded, sold and stored indefinitely.

Citing the state’s Unfair Practices Act, Torrez asked the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico to “mitigate the public nuisance Snap has caused,” alleging the company “has sacrificed the health and safety of a generation of children … in favor of screen time and advertising revenue.”

In response to the lawsuit, Snap issued a public statement on Thursday acknowledging Torrez’s concerns. The company also said it was committed to making Snapchat “a safe and positive place … particularly for (its) younger users.”

New Mexico filed a lawsuit last year against major media company Meta, alleging that the company’s social media platforms facilitated the sexual exploitation of children. Meta, which owns multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, filed a motion to dismiss the case, but a judge denied the motion in May.

Several U.S. states have filed lawsuits against major social media companies in recent years. Critics have consistently charged that the platforms are designed to attract and addict children, that they have exacerbated mental health problems, and that they have created environments in which minors are vulnerable to exploitation.

Countries around the world have also introduced legislation regulating social media platforms to protect the safety of children. France passed legislation last year requiring social media platforms to implement mandatory age verification systems and obtain explicit parental consent for users 15 and under. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice sued social media platform TikTok and its parent company ByteDance for allegedly violating children’s privacy laws.