The New Mexico attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Snap , alleging that the design and algorithmic recommendations of its social media app Snapchat "openly foster and promote illicit sexual material involving children and facilitate sextortion and the trafficking of children, drugs, and guns."
The suit calls Snapchat "a breeding ground for predators to collect sexually explicit images of children and to find, groom and extort them."
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who has a pending lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta alleging the company enables the sexual exploitation of children, in a statement Thursday said, "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."
"Through our litigation against Meta and Snap, the New Mexico Department of Justice will continue to hold these platforms accountable for prioritizing profits over children's safety," Torrez said.
Persons:
Snapchat, General Raúl Torrez, Torrez
Organizations:
New, Facebook, Meta, New Mexico Department, Justice
Locations:
New Mexico, Mexico