Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that the state has filed a lawsuit against Snap, Inc., the operator of the widely used social media platform Snapchat.
The legal action accuses the company of deliberately violating Florida law, specifically targeting alleged breaches of last year’s House Bill 3 (HB3) and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Attorney General Uthmeier positioned the lawsuit as a move to protect Florida’s youth.
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“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,” Uthmeier stated. He further accused Snap of misleading parents about the platform’s risks, stating, “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.”
The lawsuit hinges significantly on HB3, legislation passed in 2024 and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis. The law identifies five specific “addictive design features” potentially used by social media platforms to encourage compulsive use.
According to the Attorney General’s office, Snapchat employs four of these features: infinite scrolling, push notifications, interactive metrics like “SnapStreaks” that track user engagement, and auto-playing videos.
Furthermore, HB3 prohibits platforms using these features from allowing users known to be 13 or younger and requires parental consent for users aged 14 and 15. The Attorney General’s office asserts that Snap, Inc., despite acknowledging in separate litigation that it is subject to HB3, is “openly defying Florida law.”
The lawsuit alleges that Snap continues to market its app as safe for users as young as 13, despite internal knowledge that the platform can facilitate access to inappropriate content like pornography and connect users with drug dealers. This alleged discrepancy between marketing and reality forms the basis of the claim under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
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Beyond the addictive features and age restrictions, the legal filing also contends that Snap fails to adequately address other dangers, exposing minors to harmful content including profanity, depictions of substance use (alcohol, tobacco, drugs), sexual content, nudity, and mature or suggestive themes, all in alleged violation of Florida law.
The state seeks to hold Snap, Inc. accountable for these alleged violations and deceptive practices concerning the safety of minors on its platform. Snap, Inc. has not yet issued a public response to the lawsuit announced by the Florida Attorney General’s office.
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