New Mexico's attorney general has taken legal action against Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, alleging that the platform's design and policies contribute to the sharing of child sexual abuse material and facilitate child sexual exploitation. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Santa Fe, accuses Snap Inc. of promoting child trafficking, drugs, and guns in addition to sexual abuse.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez previously filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, citing the platforms' role in enabling predators to trade child sexual abuse material and solicit minors for sex. The lawsuit against Snap Inc. claims that the platform's design features make it easy for predators to target children through sextortion schemes and other forms of sexual abuse.
According to the complaint, minors report having more online sexual interactions on Snapchat than on any other platform, and more sex trafficking victims are recruited on Snapchat than on any other platform. A monthslong undercover investigation conducted by New Mexico revealed a network of dark web sites dedicated to sharing stolen sexual images from Snap, with over 10,000 records related to Snap and child sexual abuse material discovered in the last year.
As part of the investigation, a decoy Snapchat account for a 14-year-old named Heather was set up, leading to interactions with accounts with disturbing names like “child.rape” and “pedo_lover10.” Snapchat was identified as the primary source of images and videos among the dark web sites investigated, with accounts openly circulating and selling child abuse images on the platform.
In response to the lawsuit, Snap Inc. stated that it shares concerns about online safety for young people and has invested significant resources in trust and safety teams to address critical issues. The company emphasized its commitment to promoting online safety through content moderation and enabling direct messaging with close friends and family.
The lawsuit underscores the ongoing challenges of combating online exploitation and the need for platforms to prioritize the protection of vulnerable users, particularly minors. The legal action against Snap Inc. highlights the importance of holding tech companies accountable for fostering a safe online environment for all users.
