Snap, the owner of the popular instant messaging app Snapchat, is being sued by the state of New Mexico over allegations that its services “openly foster and promote illicit sexual material involving children and facilitate sextortion and the trafficking of children, drugs, and guns.”
This newest lawsuit follows a similar one by the state against the company Meta and comes in the context of increasing pressure from governments across the country against big tech platforms to better protect children online.
Lawsuit Filed
New Mexico filed a “complaint for abatement and civil penalties” in the First Judicial District Court in the County of Santa Fe.
Among many demands, the state’s complaint sought a jury trial, a judgment found in their favor, civil penalties, and the ordering of a permanent injunction against Snap and its employees from engaging in “unfair, unconscionable, or deceptive practices in violation of New Mexico law.”
Purveyor of Abuse
The lawsuit accused Snapchat of hosting a service that is “designed to attract and addict young people” while not taking adequate steps to protect them.
“Snap and Snapchat… are among the most pernicious purveyors of child sexual abuse material (‘CSAM’) and harm-inducing features on children’s electronic devices,” said the lawsuit.
Algorithmic Effects
New Mexico asserted that this intentional design combined with a system of algorithm-based recommendations has created a wider harm in society.
“Snap’s design and algorithmic recommendations openly foster and promote illicit sexual material involving children and facilitate sextortion and the trafficking of children, drugs, and guns,” the lawsuit said.
Deceptive Practices
The lawsuit asserts that despite these issues, Snap has continued to represent its platform as safe, which the state says is evidence of them lying to the public.
“Snap repeatedly made statements to the public regarding the safety and design of its platforms that it knew were untrue, or that were readily contradicted by its own internal findings,” said the lawsuit.
Failing to Warn Parents
Snap is also accused of failing to deliver proper warnings for children and their parents that have had tangible tragic consequences.
“Snap was specifically aware, but failed to warn children and parents, of ‘rampant’ and ‘massive’ sextortion on its platform — a problem so grave that it drives children facing merciless and relentless blackmail demands or disclosure of intimate images to their families and friends to suicide,” the suit says.
State Investigation
This lawsuit comes on the heels of an investigation by the New Mexico Department of Justice, which opened a decoy Snapchat account to witness the extent of the problem.
The state also found 10,000 records of CSAM material related to the app on other websites, asserting Snapchat was “by far the largest source of images and videos among the dark web sites investigated.”
Blamed for Mental Issues
In its lawsuit, the state also blamed Snapchat for the negative health effect it has had on the nation’s most vulnerable.
“Snap Inc. (“Snap”) seeks to distance itself from aspects of social media that have been linked to increases in anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues among youth,” the lawsuit said.
Misleading Users
One aspect that New Mexico took issue with was how the illusion of temporary messages the app is known for has been tricking young users.
“Snap has misled users into believing that photos and videos sent on their platform will disappear, but predators can permanently capture this content they have created a virtual yearbook of child sexual images that are traded, sold, and stored indefinitely,” New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said.
Protecting Children’s Safety
Torrez emphasized that the state’s priority in filing this lawsuit and others was to ensure children are better protected online.
“Through our litigation against Meta and Snap, the New Mexico Department of Justice will continue to hold these platforms accountable for prioritizing profits over children’s safety,” Torrez said.
Meta Lawsuit
Back in December, Torrez and the state of New Mexico filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, owner of the popular social media site Facebook.
“Our investigation into Meta’s social media platforms demonstrates that they are not safe spaces for children but rather prime locations for predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex,” said Torrez in a press release. “As a career prosecutor who specialized in internet crimes against children, I am committed to using every available tool to put an end to these horrific practices and I will hold companies — and their executives — accountable whenever they put profits ahead of children’s safety.”
Snap’s Response
A spokesperson for the company has confirmed that the company is aware of the complaint and will be reviewing it before responding in court.
This spokesperson emphasized that Snap has invested hundreds of millions into its trust and safety teams and has worked in cooperation with law enforcement and online safety experts to better maintain its platform’s safety.
