- Utah AG Derek Brown and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection jointly sued Snap, Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, facilitating child sexual exploitation and sextortion through its design features and recommendation algorithms, allegedly violating state consumer protection and privacy laws.
- The complaint accuses Snap of using deceptive and unconscionable design features aimed at minors, which it alleges contribute to: addictive use behaviors in minor users, child sexual exploitation, sextortion, illegal drug sales, and other harms to children. The complaint also argues that Snap introduced its “My AI” chatbot without adequate testing or safety protocols and that the app’s “disappearing message” feature gives users a false sense of security. The complaint further alleges that Snap failed to disclose key information about how it collects and uses sensitive user data.
- The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, restitution, damages, civil penalties, and attorneys’ fees and costs, among other relief.
- We have previously reported on similar lawsuits in New Mexico and Florida.