Florida Attorney General James Usmier filed a lawsuit Monday against SnapChat’s parent company, Snap Inc., claiming that the popular platform “openly denies” state law aimed at protecting young minors from addictive social media features and vague and dangerous content.
Recently appointed attorney general Uthmeier in Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantisin a Circuit Court complaint filed Monday, allegedly Snapchat uses addictive features to attract minors under the age of 13.
The lawsuit also alleges that Snapchat does not properly verify the age of users. Parental consent In Florida, we are deceptive about identifying content that is required by Snapchat users under the age of 16 and should not be accessible to minors.
“Snap’s behavior is especially bad despite knowing that you can use Snapchat to access porn and porn, as it is safe for users up to the age of 13 in Florida. Buy medicationAmong many other risks, “Usmeyer’s complaint states,” rather than following Florida laws by removing 13-year-old users from the platform and asking parents’ consent from 14- and 15-year-old users, SNAP is actively deceiving them. Florida parents About the risks of making teens accessible to this platform. ”
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Florida officials filed a lawsuit Monday against SnapChat owner and operator, Snap Inc., claiming that state law aimed at protecting young minors is “openly protesting.” (Getty Images/Fox News)
uthmeier Discussed in his lawsuit Snapchat’s current content rating is “very deceptive and unfair,” referring to a Washington Post columnist who was able to test Snapchat’s AI chatbot functionality and provide instructions on how to hide pot and alcohol smells to a 13-year-old. He also pointed out Snapchat’s “Find Friends” feature, noting that Uthmeier “connected minors with adult strangers who attempted to raise, harass, exploit and even attack illegal drugs.”
According to Uthmeier, Snapchat recognizes it is subject to provisions under Florida’s HB 3, and in a complaint Monday claims the platform is “openly ignoring this important public health measure.”
However, Snap Inc. argues that the underlying premise of Uthmeier’s complaint that Snapchat is violating HB 3 is flawed because the law is infringed. First Amendment Adults and young people. At the same time, according to Snap Inc., HB 3 fails to properly address age verification and opens up Floridians to data protection and privacy issues.
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A spokesman for SNAP Inc. said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “We believe there are more privacy-ready solutions in managing online safety and age verification, such as the operating system, the App Store or device level. “In addition, there are current challenges to the constitutionality of this law pending in the Federal Court of Florida, and we wanted the state to allow this challenge to proceed with appropriate legal proceedings. Unfortunately, they decided to file a complaint with the state court to bypass the issues already being asked in federal courts.”
Recently appointed Attorney General James Uthmeier, Florida GOP Governor Ron Desantis, was alleged in a Circuit Court complaint filed Monday that Snapchat is leveraging addictive features to attract minor users under the age of 13. (Getty Images/Fox News)
HB 3 was challenged by industry groups last year in a lawsuit alleging that state law violated First Amendment rights. The plaintiffs in that lawsuit are collectively representative of a number of majors and NetChoice Social Media Platforms They also challenge other state laws, including Snapchat, that aim to protect minors from harmful social media characteristics, and have content for reasons that violate the initial amendment.
The law prohibits social media apps that utilize certain addictive features, such as push notifications, autoplay features, and Infinity scrolling, allowing users under the age of 13 to open their accounts. For users under the age of 16, you must obtain parental notifications.
The bill also requires companies like Snapchat to knowingly publish adult content on the platform to take steps to prohibit users under the age of 18 from accessing such material.
According to the law, platforms that knowingly or recklessly violate the requirements of HB 3 could be subject to enforcement under Florida’s deceptive and unfair trade practices law, which could result in a fine of up to $50,000 per case. On the other hand, account holders who are minors may also seek compensation of up to $10,000.
“Florida law is actively challenging it because it violates the initial amendment,” Paul Tasuke, the litigation’s associate director of Net Choice, told Fox News Digital. “We’re sure we’ll succeed.”
With Snapchat’s release of new generative AI capabilities, Jessica Melugin, director of the Technology and Innovation Center at the competitive Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital that the platform is a “frontier” that brings AI capabilities to the social media public. (Jonathan Raa/Nur Photo via Getty Images)
Nonprofits promoting parental rights, including the American Parents Union and the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, have expressed support for Usmeyer’s lawsuit, noting that the use of social media among minors can have a detrimental effect on their mental fitness and overall well-being in life.
“It’s undisputed that social media is hurting The mental and physical health of our children.” Alleigh Marre, executive director of the American Parents Coalition, told Fox News Digital. “Beyond the wide range of challenges young people face with the intentionally addictive nature of the platform, Snapchat has enabled poor safety measures and inadequate parental control to put their children at risk. From sexual predators to porn to porn, Snapchat’s leadership recognizes the risks associated with the platform, especially for young people.
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“Attorney General Usmeyer recognizes that Florida children are the future of our community and our most valuable assets. General Usmeyer focuses on protecting children from inappropriate content, and the threat posed by child predators demonstrates their vulnerability and the need to keep them safe online.” “By prioritizing their protection, he not only strengthens our current legislative landscape, but also sets an important example that others should follow.”
