AG Paxton Sues Snapchat Over Child Safety, Deceptive Practices

AUSTIN, TX -- Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Snap, Inc. (“Snapchat”) for failing to adequately warn parents and consumers about inappropriate material on the platform and the app’s addictive design.

The lawsuit alleges that creators of Snapchat knowingly misrepresented the app’s safety to parents and consumers by promoting it as safe for children and with “12+” age ratings on app stores. This was done while simultaneously frequently exposing users to dangerous and mature content that includes profanity, sexual content, nudity, and drug use. The lawsuit cites that multiple other features of the app, including “Snapstreaks” or other incentives to use the app daily, also cause harm to young minds due to the addictive nature of the features.

“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,” said Attorney General Paxton. “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. This lawsuit will hold Snapchat accountable for illegally undermining parental rights, deceiving consumers, and for putting children in danger.”

This lawsuit follows legal actions that Attorney General Paxton has taken against several Big Tech and social media companies, as well as similar suits against TikTok and Roblox.

To read the lawsuit, click here.