Did Snapchat make sextortion possible? The AG of this state says yes

Published: October 7, 2024

Did Snapchat make sextortion possible? The AG of this state says yes

By Movieguide® Contributor

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has filed a lawsuit against Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc., for facilitating sexual abuse and trafficking of children, drugs and weapons.

“Our undercover investigation revealed that Snapchat’s malicious design features create an environment where predators can easily target children through extortion schemes and other forms of sexual abuse,” Torrez said.

“Snap has tricked users into believing that photos and videos sent on their platform will disappear, but predators can permanently capture this content and they have created a virtual yearbook of child sexual images that are traded, sold and stored indefinitely” , he continued. “Through our lawsuit against…Snap, the New Mexico Department of Justice will continue to hold these platforms accountable for prioritizing profits over the safety of children.”

Among other disheartening discoveries, the investigation revealed that Snapchat executives ignored tens of thousands of abuse reports sent to them by lower-level moderators.

“It is disheartening to see that Snap employees have raised many red flags that continue to be ignored by executives,” said Attorney General Torrez. “What is even more disturbing is that unredacted information shows that the addictive features on Snapchat were openly acknowledged and encouraged to remain active on the platform.”

Snapchat has responded by pointing to the millions of dollars it spends annually on security, along with reiterating that it continues to value public safety.

“We understand that online threats continue to evolve and we will continue to work hard to address these critical issues,” Snap Inc. said. after the lawsuit was filed. “We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in our trust and safety teams over the years and have designed our service to promote online safety by moderating content and enabling direct messaging with close friends and family.”

Contrary to the company’s claims, Snapchat has repeatedly faced lawsuits over the way it enables crime on its platform. It has also been placed on the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s “Dirty Dozen” list several years in a row. It’s clear that the app remains unsafe, despite Snap Inc.’s attempts to fix it. to clean this up.

Movieguide® previously reported:

A lawsuit by dozens of families against Snapchat will go to trial after a California judge ruled that the parents’ complaint can go to trial.

More than 60 families are suing Snapchat over unsafe features on the platform that allow drug dealers to contact and make deals with children in virtually untraceable ways.

“Today’s ruling marks the first time a court has allowed parents to hold social media companies accountable for facilitating the sale of deadly drugs,” Matthew P. Bergman, an attorney for the families, said after the ruling. “Fentanyl is the biggest killer of children under 18 and social media plays a major role in deadly drug sales that have resulted in a 350% increase in teen deaths in the past three years.”

“Parents who have lost children to fentanyl poisoning will now be able to move forward with the lawsuit, uncover evidence of Snapchat’s contribution to illegal drug sales, and by holding Snap legally accountable, spare other families the unspeakable grief that experience them every day. he continued.