Snapchat has officially been slapped with a class-action lawsuit by an unnamed 14-year-old boy. The lawsuit claims that one of the app’s features is harming minors because it exposes them to sexually explicit material, according to Variety.
On Thursday, the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles, and claims that through the Snapchat Discover feature, Snapchat is “engaged in an insidious pattern and practice of intentionally exposing minors to harmful, offensive, prurient, and sexually offensive content, without warnings minors or their parents that they would be exposed to such explicit content.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Snapchat Discover is a feature of the app that integrates, develops, and curates content from media partners such as Buzzfeed, Fusion, MTV, and Cosmopolitan.
The lawsuit also states, “By engaging in such conduct directed at minors, and making it simple and easy for users to ‘snap’ each other content from Snapchat Discover, Snapchat is reinforcing the use of its service to facilitate problematic communications, such as ‘sexting,’ between minors. Snapchat has placed profit from monetizing Snapchat Discover over the safety of children.”
Specific articles were mentioned by the lawsuit and claims that Snapchat did nothing to protect minors from being subject to such material. Articles with headlines like, “10 Things He Thinks When He Can’t Make You Orgasm,” and “F**k Buddies Talk About How They Keep It Casual,” as well as sexually explicit images such as “Beware of Whiskey Dick.”
Snapchat’s spokesman responded to the lawsuit in a statement, “We haven’t been served with a complaint in this lawsuit, but we are sorry if people were offended. Our Discover partners have editorial independence, which is something that we support.”
The lawsuit made further claims stating that Snapchat not only has done nothing to prevent it, but rather that the app “controls and curates” the content with its media partners and is promoting this type of material.
“Worse yet, the biggest offender in sharing offensive communications with minors is not user to user communications, but is instead communications that Snapchat is sending and promoting to minors through Snapchat Discover.”
The boy who filed the lawsuit is seeking “unspecified damages and injunctive relief, including an order barring Snapchat from engaging in the ‘unlawful practices’ as well as an order to do a corrective advertising campaign,” according to Variety.
Do you think Snapchat is responsible for the content that their media partners display?
