New Mexico’s Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against Snap, accusing the company of failing to protect children from sextortion, sexual exploitation, and other harms on Snapchat. The lawsuit contends that Snapchat’s features foster the sharing of child sexual abuse material and facilitate child sexual exploitation. Following a months-long investigation, the state’s Department of Justice discovered a vast network of dark web sites dedicated to sharing stolen sexual images from Snap, with more than 10,000 records related to child sexual abuse material found in the last year. The complaint against Snapchat alleges that the app is a breeding ground for predators to collect explicit images of children and victimize them through sextortion schemes. The lawsuit also claims that Snapchat’s platform is designed to be addicting to young people, leading to mental health issues. This lawsuit against Snapchat follows a similar child safety suit filed against Meta last December. Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated that the litigation is aimed at holding platforms like Snap and Meta accountable for prioritizing profits over children’s safety. Snapchat responded to the claims, stating their commitment to online safety and their ongoing efforts to address evolving threats and promote safety through content moderation and collaboration with stakeholders. The update includes Snap’s statement regarding the lawsuit.
