TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The popular photo-sharing app Snapchat is in hot water after being accused of breaking Florida law.
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon, stating, "We take the safety and security of children very seriously, and as part of our mission to make Florida the best place to raise a family, we are holding social media platforms that harm children accountable".
HB3 was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, with the goal of providing online protection for minors.
The bill identifies five addictive features that many social media platforms use to encourage users to sign into the app. Four of these features — infinite scrolling, push notifications, personal interactive metrics and auto-play videos — are all utilized within Snapchat.
Florida law not only prohibits those 13 years old or younger from creating accounts, but also requires that those 14 and 15 years old must seek parental approval before creating an account on social media platforms covered by HB3.
"Snap is deceiving Florida parents about the dangers children face on the app, from behavioral addictive features to allowing sexual predators and drug dealers access, and we cannot allow this deception to continue," Uthmeier said.
While Snap, Inc., operator of Snapchat, has acknowledged and agreed to this Florida Law, by offering these in-app features, the attorney said the platform is openly breaking the law.
The lawsuit suggests Snap, Inc. also fails to keep minors safe on its platform by allowing content that includes drug use, profanity, nudity and other mature themes. Also, the attorney general said Snapchat makes it easy for drug dealers, online predators, and other threats of that nature to contact minors.
Read the full lawsuit below:
