A new unredacted complaint filed against Snapchat by the New Mexico Attorney General says the company failed to act on “rampant” reports of child grooming, sexual exploitation and other risks of minors on its platform.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the original complaint on September 4, but internal messages and other details were significantly redacted. Tuesday’s document shows Snap Inc. Torrez released internal messages among employees and executives that provide “further confirmation that Snapchat’s harmful design features create an environment that promotes sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and unwanted contact from adults to minors,” Torrez said in a press release. said.
For example, former Trust and Safety employees complained that there was “reluctance” from management when they tried to add safety mechanisms, according to the lawsuit. Employees also noted a failure to report cases of grooming and sexual exploitation by users, who persuade users to send explicit photos online and then threaten to release the images unless victims pay money or provide sexual favors. At one point, the account remained active despite 75 reports for references to “nudity, minors and extortion.”
Snap said in a statement that its platform was designed with “built-in safety guardrails” and that it had “made intentional design choices to make it difficult for strangers to spot minors on our services.”
“We continue to evolve our safety mechanisms and policies, from leveraging advanced technology to detect and block specific activity to banning suspicious accounts from unfriending us, to working with law enforcement and government agencies. ,” the company said.
According to the lawsuit, Snap was well aware but failed to warn parents, teen users and the public that “sexual exploitation was a rampant, ‘large-scale’ and ‘incredibly concerning problem’ on Snapchat.”
According to a November 2022 internal email from a Trust & Safety employee, Snapchat receives “approximately 10,000” user reports each month.
“If this is correct, in my humble opinion we have a problem of enormous concern,” the email continues.
Another staff member responded that it’s worth noting that the numbers likely represent “a small fraction of this abuse” because users may find it embarrassing and “it’s not easy to categorize” when trying to report sextortion to the site. I did it.
Torrez filed the lawsuit in Santa Fe state court against Snap Inc., based in Santa Monica, California. The lawsuit alleges that in addition to sexual abuse, the company openly promotes child trafficking and the sale of illegal drugs and guns.
