Current:Home > FinanceNew Mexico attorney general sues company behind Snapchat alleging child sexual extortion on the site -InvestPioneer
New Mexico attorney general sues company behind Snapchat alleging child sexual extortion on the site
View
Date:2025-04-11 20:55:15
AP Technology Writer (AP) — New Mexico’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the company behind Snapchat, alleging that site’s design and policies foster the sharing of child sexual abuse material and facilitate child sexual exploitation.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the lawsuit against Snap Inc. Thursday in state court in Santa Fe. In addition to sexual abuse, the lawsuit claims the company also openly promotes child trafficking, drugs and guns.
Last December, Torrez filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, saying it allows predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex on its platforms. That suit is pending.
Snap’s “harmful design features create an environment where predators can easily target children through sextortion schemes and other forms of sexual abuse,” Torrez said in a statement. Sexual extortion, or sextortion, involves persuading a person to send explicit photos online and then threatening to make the images public unless the victim pays money or engages in sexual favors.
“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,” Torres said.
In a statement, Snap said it shares Torrez’s and the public’s concerns about the online safety of young people.
“We understand that online threats continue to evolve and we will continue to work diligently to address these critical issues,” the company based in Santa Monica, California, said. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in our trust and safety teams over the past several years, and designed our service to promote online safety by moderating content and enabling direct messaging with close friends and family.”
According to the complaint, minors report having more online sexual interactions on Snapchat than any other platform, and more sex trafficking victims are recruited on Snapchat than on any other platform.
Prior to the lawsuit, New Mexico conducted a monthslong undercover investigation into child sexual abuse images on Snapchat. According to Torrez’s statement, the investigation revealed a “vast network of dark web sites dedicated to sharing stolen, non-consensual sexual images from Snap,” finding more than 10,000 records related to Snap and child sexual abuse material in the last year. This included information related to minors younger than 13 being sexually assaulted.
As part of the undercover investigation, the New Mexico department of justice set up a decoy Snapchat account for a 14-year-old named Heather, who found and exchanged messages with accounts with names like “child.rape” and “pedo_lover10.”
Snapchat, the lawsuit alleges, “was by far the largest source of images and videos among the dark web sites investigated.” Investigators also found Snapchat accounts that openly circulated and sold child abuse images directly on the platform.
veryGood! (732)
Related
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- 'Crazy idea': How Paris secured its Olympics opening ceremony
- Utah officials deny clemency for man set to be executed for 1998 killing of his girlfriend’s mother
- Powerful cartel leader ‘El Mayo’ Zambada was lured onto airplane before arrest in US, AP source says
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Harris will carry Biden’s economic record into the election. She hopes to turn it into an asset
- 270 flights canceled in Frankfurt as environmental activists target airports across Europe
- Thieves slam truck into Denver restaurant to steal only steaks: 'It's ridiculous'
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- It’s Brat Girl Summer: Here’s Everything You Need to Unleash Your Feral Party Girl Energy
Ranking
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar Suffers Severe Allergic Reaction in Olympic Village
- Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA for not accepting its matching offer
- Lady Gaga stuns in Olympics opening ceremony performance with French feathers and Dior
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- At least 8 large Oklahoma school districts rebuke superintendent's order to teach Bible
- Olympics 2024: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend's Kids Luna and Miles Steal the Show at Opening Ceremony
- The Boyz' tour diary on second US tour, performing: 'It feels like a dream'
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
It’s Brat Girl Summer: Here’s Everything You Need to Unleash Your Feral Party Girl Energy
Judge strikes down one North Carolina abortion restriction but upholds another
SAG-AFTRA announces video game performers' strike over AI, pay
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Olympics schedule today: Every event, time, competition at Paris Games for July 26
Belgium women's basketball guard Julie Allemand to miss 2024 Paris Olympics with injury
Netanyahu will meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, mending a yearslong rift