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Snapchat sued by Florida Attorney General over child safety concerns

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Updated  April 22, 2025 5:33pm EDT
Florida
FOX 13 News

Snapchat sued by Florida Attorney General over child safety concerns

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.

The Brief

    • Snapchat is being sued by the Florida Attorney General over child safety concerns.
    • Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that the state of Florida is suing Snapchat, accusing them of defying Florida's law banning young teens from having their own social media accounts.
    • The lawsuit takes issue with the platform's security measures to make sure people are not pretending to be someone they are not.

TAMPA - Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that the state of Florida is suing Snapchat, accusing them of defying Florida's law banning young teens from having their own social media accounts.

The lawsuit alleges that Snapchat knowingly allowed young teens to use their platform, misleading parents about the app's safety.

Big picture view:

HB 3, a bill signed into law last year by Governor Ron DeSantis, points to five design features that social media platforms will use to promote behavioral addiction and compulsive use.

The attorney general says Snapchat uses four of those five: infinite scrolling, push notifications, personal interactive metrics and autoplay videos.

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Part of Uthmeier's press conference referenced Snapchat's procedures to make sure kids don't receive unwanted photos.

What they're saying:

"We take the safety and security of children very seriously, and as part of our mission to make Florida the best place to raise a family, we are holding social media platforms that harm children accountable," said Uthmeier. "Snap is deceiving Florida parents about the dangers children face on the app, from behavioral addictive features to allowing sexual predators and drug dealers access, and we cannot allow this deception to continue."

Unlike other social media apps, Snapchat photos are not saved in the app, and they disappear after being viewed once.

Furthermore, the lawsuit takes issue with the platform's security measures to make sure people are not pretending to be someone they are not.

Uthmeier says the state is also looking into Roblox, a game kids play that attracts lots of predators.

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The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Florida Attorney General.

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