Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday sued the company that owns Snapchat, accusing the social media organization of failing to adequately warn parents about inappropriate material on the platform and downplaying its addictiveness.
The lawsuit alleges that Snapchat, a free multimedia messaging app, violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by listing itself on app stores as appropriate for children ages 12 and older, despite frequently exposing users to dangerous and mature content that includes profanity, sexual content, nudity and drug use.
The filing also cites multiple other features of the app, including “Snapstreaks” and other incentives to use the app daily, that causes harm to young minds due to their addictive nature.
“I will not allow Snapchat to harm our kids by running a business designed to get Texas children addicted to a platform filled with obscene and destructive content,” Paxton said in a news release. “Parents have a fundamental right to know the dangers of the apps their kids are using and not be lied to by Big Tech companies.”
Paxton is seeking maximum civil penalties of $10,000 for each of the deceptive trade act violations — nine of them are listed so far in the lawsuit — and a court order prohibiting Snapchat from advertising its application to children.
Representatives for Snap Company, the owners of Snapchat, told The Texas Tribune they strongly disagree with Paxton’s complaint because it distorts how the platform operates.
“There is no single safety measure or policy that can eliminate every potential risk online – just as there isn’t offline. That’s why we’ve implemented strong safeguards, introduced strong safety tutorials and resources, partnered with experts, and continue to invest in features and tools that support the safety, privacy, and well-being of all Snapchatters,” according to the company’s statement.
This lawsuit is the latest in a series of official actions against major technology companies as conservative backlash continues to grow.
In 2023, Texas lawmakers strengthened laws requiring social media platforms to protect minors from inappropriate content online. That legislation is still fighting its way through the courts, and parts have been blocked for being unconstitutionally vague.
However, Paxton has used this act to bring lawsuits against the video platform TikTok for allowing the app to circumvent parental controls while still labeling it for users 12 and older, and the online platform and virtual community Roblox for exposing children to sexually explicit content.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
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