Florida Attorney General sues Snapchat over child safety violations

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a lawsuit today against Snap, Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, alleging the social media giant knowingly violated state laws designed to protect minors from online harm.

The legal action, filed in accordance with Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and last year’s House Bill 3 (HB 3), accuses Snap of misleading Florida families about the dangers children face on its platform. The suit alleges that Snap both violated the state’s statutory requirements for youth social media access and failed to disclose harmful content and features embedded in the Snapchat app.

“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,” said Attorney General Uthmeier in a statement. “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.”

HB 3, which was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2023, targets addictive design elements in social media platforms that encourage compulsive use. The law identifies five such features—four of which Snapchat allegedly uses, including infinite scrolling, push notifications, auto-play videos, and interactive metrics such as SnapStreaks.

Under HB 3, platforms using these features are prohibited from offering services to users known to be 13 or younger. Additionally, accounts for 14- and 15-year-olds require verified parental consent. The lawsuit asserts that Snap has knowingly continued to violate these provisions by marketing the app as appropriate for users aged 13 and older, despite admitting in other litigation that it falls under HB 3’s jurisdiction.