New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez has filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc., accusing the company of creating an environment that facilitates child sexual exploitation through its popular Snapchat app. The suit alleges that the app’s disappearing images and messages have made it easier for predators to collect sexually explicit content involving minors, which they then use for extortion purposes.
According to the state, Snapchat has become the primary platform for these “sextortion” schemes due to its unique design features that create a false sense of security for users. The platform’s ephemeral messaging and other elements that connect users have made it easier for predators to target minors without their knowledge or consent, the lawsuit argues.
The state’s claims are based on a months-long undercover investigation by the New Mexico Department of Justice, which uncovered a vast network of dark websites sharing nonconsensual images from Snapchat. The investigation found over 10,000 such records in the past year alone.
Our undercover investigation revealed that Snapchat’s harmful design features create an environment where predators can easily target children through sextortion schemes and other forms of sexual abuse,” said Attorney General Torrez in a statement.
Torrez criticized Snap Inc. for allegedly misleading users into believing their content would disappear after being viewed. 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,” he added.
The lawsuit also argues that Snapchat’s efforts to differentiate itself from other social media platforms are misleading and potentially dangerous. Snap may claim that Snapchat is unlike other social media, but those claims are false and knowingly so,” the suit states. Snap’s conduct is not only dangerously deceptive; it is unlawful.
In addition to targeting Snap Inc., New Mexico has also filed a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for allegedly enabling similar child sexual exploitation activities on its platforms.
Snap Inc. responded to the allegations on Thursday, stating that they are reviewing the Attorney General’s complaint and will respond in court. A Snap spokesperson emphasized the company’s commitment to ensuring a safe online environment for all users, particularly minors, while acknowledging the ever-evolving nature of online threats.
We share Attorney General Torrez’s and the public’s concerns about the online safety of young people and are deeply committed to Snapchat being a safe and positive place for our entire community, particularly for our younger users,” the spokesperson said in a statement. 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.
The spokesperson added, “We understand that online threats continue to evolve and we will continue to work diligently to address these critical issues.
