SALT LAKE CITY — Utah leaders, for a fourth time, are suing a social media company; this time, their target is Snapchat for its alleged violations of the Utah Consumer Privacy Act. The Utah Department of Consumer Protection and the Office of the Attorney General have already filed similar lawsuits against Meta and TikTok.
In the new lawsuit, Utah alleges that Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, profits from design features created to addict children to the app, and facilitates illegal drug sales and sextortion. The lawsuit also includes claims related to its AI chatbot, My AI, and comes as states confront the harsh realities of AI technology’s impact on children.
“Utah is taking a stand to protect our kids in an increasingly digital world. This lawsuit against Snap is about accountability and about drawing a clear line: the well-being of our children must come before corporate profits,” said Governor Spencer Cox in statement. “We won’t sit back while tech companies exploit young users. It’s time for commonsense protections that ensure a safer online experience for every minor.”
The state claims Snapchat is designed to steal time and attention away from teens at the expense of their development, health, and welfare.
Three separate counts in the lawsuit allege that Snap designed addictive and dangerous features into its platform to exploit children's psychological vulnerabilities, the company publicly positioned itself as a safe alternative to traditional social media making claims about the platform's safety, and violated the Utah Consumer Privacy Act by not informing its users about its data collection and processing practices.
“Snapchat’s features facilitate sexual predators and drug dealers’ efforts to target and exploit children,” said Attorney General Derek Brown. “We will continue to do everything in our power to protect Utah kids from exploitation. My office will not be deterred in its efforts to keep children safe online.”
Examples of the alleged exploitation in the lawsuit include Snap publicly advertising protections for teens. However, an investigation by the Department of Consumer Protection found that when they made accounts for a 15-year-old and a 13-year-old, their feeds were still filled with highly sexual material.
The State also accuses Snapchat of being a virtual market for drug cartels, pointing to the arrest of one man in 2019 who allegedly promoted drugs and arranged sales on the platform.
Snap shared a statement denying the claims made by the state, saying the company protects its users.
"Snap has no higher priority than the safety of Snapchatters," the statement began. "We are committed to making Snapchat a safe and fun environment for our community, and have built privacy and safety features into our service from the start.
"Last year, a social media law passed in Utah was preliminarily enjoined after the court ruled it was likely unconstitutional, violating the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. Now, unable to accept the court’s rejection of the state’s legislation, the Utah Attorney General is resorting to civil litigation as a means to circumvent the court and impose age verification requirements and age-related restrictions in ways that are unconstitutional"
Artificial intelligence used by Snapchat is also under fire for allegedly lacking proper testing and safety protocols. According to state officials, the AI led to misleading or harmful advice being given to children, including how to hide alcohol and drugs.
