Snapchat’s parent company Snap is facing a lawsuit in Missouri, US, after the parents of a girl alleged that features on the social media platform allowed an adult man to contact their daughter, groom her and sexually assault her when she was 12 years old.The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Missouri state court, names both Snapp and Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios, who has already pleaded guilty to statutory rape and is serving an 18-year prison sentence in the state.
what does the lawsuit say
The complaint states that the girl started using Snapchat in 2021 at the age of 11 without the knowledge of her parents. While the platform requires users to be at least 13 years old, the lawsuit alleges that children knew they could easily bypass the age-verification process.The family claims Snapchat’s recommendation system later suggested the girl and other teenage girls from nearby schools as potential contacts for Valentin-Rios, an adult who reportedly had no existing relationship with them.According to the AP, the lawsuit also alleges that the platform did not warn users about the risks associated with connecting with strangers.After making contact with the girl, Valentin-Rios allegedly began sending sexually explicit photos. According to the lawsuit, the child “did not want these photos and did not respond at first but Snapchat’s product design made it impossible for (her) to avoid such explicit content”.Court filings further allege that Snapchat’s Snap Maps feature gave Valentin-Rios the location of her home without the girl’s knowledge.The lawsuit states that Valentin-Rios misrepresented himself as a 17-year-old local high school student, when he was actually 25. He prepared the girl over time before convincing her to meet him in person, where she was subsequently raped.Also read: 11-year-old Delhi girl kidnapped, raped and murdered near Mehrauli-Gurgaon border; 1 heldThe family also alleges that Snapchat failed to take action despite being aware that Valentin-Rios operated multiple accounts on the platform, including one allegedly used to contact teenage girls.In response to the lawsuit, Snap said, “We care deeply about the safety and well-being of all Snapchatters, and our teams have worked for years to build safeguards, launch security tutorials, partner with experts, and work with law enforcement to help prevent abuse of our platform.”According to the lawsuit, the girl has since been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression. The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a court order requiring changes to practices they allege harm children.Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, who is representing the family, argued that the platform’s design played a central role in the case.“This attack did not happen out of the blue – it happened because Snapchat’s product design made it easy for a predator to reach out and manipulate an unknowing child,” Bergman said.He added: “Snap executives have long known that their features create an ideal environment for predators to exploit children, yet they have repeatedly failed to make the platform safe.”The Missouri case comes amid broader legal challenges facing SNAP over child safety issues.
no different case
In 2024, New Mexico sued the company, alleging that Snapchat’s design facilitates sextortion, sexual exploitation, and unwanted contact between adults and minors. According to that lawsuit, the company knew that sextortion was a “rampant” and “incredibly worrying issue” on Snapchat, but failed to adequately warn parents, users, and the public.A judge rejected Snap’s attempt to dismiss that case.Separate lawsuits are also pending against the company, including a Vermont case involving two 12-year-old girls who allegedly suffered sexual assault after meeting an adult through Snapchat.