By Sheila Dang
(Reuters) – Snap on Thursday filed a motion to dismiss a New Mexico lawsuit alleging the tech company enabled child sexual exploitation on its messaging app Snapchat, arguing that There are flaws in the state’s investigation.
The lawsuit, brought in September by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torres, is part of an effort by US lawmakers to hold tech companies accountable for harm caused to minors who use their services. In January, US senators questioned the CEOs of Snap, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:), TikTok, X and Discord, accusing the companies of failing to protect children from abuse and “sexual abuse”. In which predators force minors to send explicit images or videos. .
As part of a months-long investigation, New Mexico set up a decoy account for a 14-year-old girl, who investigators said did not add any friends but was immediately identified by Snapchat. Suggestions were received to add users with account names.
In a filing in New Mexico’s First Judicial Circuit Court, Snap said the allegations were “blatantly false” and that the decoy account actively sent numerous friend requests to certain users, contrary to the state’s claims.
The New Mexico lawsuit also accuses Snap of failing to warn children and parents about the dangers of sexual exploitation on Snapchat. The Santa Monica, California-based company countered that the claims were barred by the First Amendment because Snap cannot be compelled to speak.
“Not only would Snape be required to make subjective judgments about potential risks of loss and disclose them, but it would have to do so with virtually no guidance on how to avoid liability in the future,” Snape said in the filing.
Snap said the state’s lawsuit is also a clear violation of Section 230, a section of the 1996 law that protects online platforms from civil liability for content posted by users and third parties.
The company added that it has doubled the size of its trust and safety team and tripled its law enforcement operations team since 2020.
