State Accuses Snapchat of Sexually Exploiting Children
By Movieguide® Contributor
Snapchat is making headlines once again for questionable practices.
The popular app has now been accused by the state of New Mexico of sexually exploiting children.
CBS News reported, “An undercover investigation by the state found Snapchat has crafted ‘an environment where predators can easily target children through sextortion schemes and other forms of sexual abuse,’ Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated in a news release.”
Torrez continued, “Snap has misled 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.”
The lawsuit claims that certain Snapchat features enable predators to gain access to children. The lawsuit reads, “Snap’s features, including its algorithms, which mine patterns of consumption by users to recommend content and other users aligned with their interests to operate to match children with adult predators and drug dealers and deliver a string of sexualized, drug-related, or other dangerous content to children, predators, and others.”
The lawsuit continues by stating that Snapchat failed to implement the correct safety measures to protect users.
The lawsuit also noted the rape of an 11-year-old girl, who a predator found through Snapchat.
Snapchat has been busted for its inability to protect children before. Movieguide® previously reported:
Third-party app Yolo can be sued for not protecting users from bullying.
The app, which was used in conjunction with Snapchat to allow users to message anonymously, “promised to unmask and ban users who engaged in bullying or harassment but allegedly failed to do so,” Justia reported…
The app had previously been sued and removed from the app store when a 16-year-old boy named Carson Bride took his life after being bullied on the app.
“We have been working diligently to find, remove and report bad actors, educate our community and give teens, as well as parents and guardians, tools to help them be safe online,” a Snap spokesperson said.
