Texas Sues Snapchat, Alleging Deceptive Practices and Risk to Minors
The state of Texas is taking legal action against Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, alleging the social media platform misled parents regarding the safety of its app while simultaneously exposing minors to harmful content and intentionally addictive design features.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit in Collin County district court, accusing Snap of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act. The legal challenge centers on claims that Snap misrepresented the content available on Snapchat and employed manipulative features to keep young users engaged.
According to the petition, Snap markets Snapchat as appropriate for users aged 12 and older in Apple’s App Store, characterizing potentially harmful content – including profanity, sexual material, nudity, drugs, and alcohol – as “infrequent/mild.” The state contends these representations are demonstrably false. An investigation reportedly revealed that a 13-year-old test account could easily access explicit sexual material, graphic profanity, drug-related content, and videos depicting suicide.
The lawsuit doesn’t stop at content concerns. It also targets Snapchat’s core design elements, including features like “Snapstreaks,” infinite scrolling, autoplay videos, push notifications, and disappearing messages. The state argues these features are deliberately engineered to foster behavioral addiction in teenagers, potentially contributing to mental health issues.
“I will not allow Snapchat to harm our kids by running a business designed to get Texas children addicted to a platform filled with obscene and destructive content,” Paxton stated. “Parents have a fundamental right to know the dangers of the apps their kids are using and not be lied to by Big Tech companies. This lawsuit will hold Snapchat accountable for illegally undermining parental rights, deceiving consumers, and for putting children in danger.”
Further allegations detail the limitations of Snapchat’s “Family Center” parental controls. The state claims these controls are burdensome, requiring minors to approve parental access and failing to provide adequate oversight of content exposure or data sharing. The petition also asserts that Snap collects and shares personal data from minors without adhering to the protections mandated by the SCOPE Act.
The state is seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation, a court order halting the alleged deceptive practices, and full compliance with Texas law. Snap, headquartered in Santa Monica, California, reported over $5.3 billion in North American revenue in 2024, according to the filing.
This legal action follows similar lawsuits brought by Paxton against other social media companies, notably TikTok, over concerns about youth safety.
Snap disputed the allegations in a statement provided to Texas Scorecard. “We strongly disagree with the Texas Attorney General’s complaint, which fundamentally distorts how our platform works,” a Snapchat spokesperson said. “There is no single safety measure or policy that can eliminate every potential risk online — just as there isn’t offline. That’s why we’ve implemented strong safeguards, introduced safety tutorials and resources, partnered with experts, and continue investing in features and tools that support the safety, privacy, and well-being of all Snapchatters.”
The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for how social media platforms are regulated and held accountable for the safety of their young users.
