Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, is facing a lawsuit in the US state of Missouri after the parents of a girl claimed that features on the social media platform enabled an adult man to contact, groom and sexually assault their daughter when she was 12 years old.The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Missouri state court against Snap and Gabriel Joel Valentin-Rios, who pleaded guilty to statutory rape and is serving an 18-year sentence in the state.
Litigation content
The girl began using Snapchat without her parents’ knowledge in 2021 when she was 11 years old, according to the complaint. While the platform requires users to be 13 or older, the lawsuit alleges that children knew they could easily bypass the age verification process.The family alleges that Snapchat’s recommendation system later suggested the girl and other teenage girls from nearby schools as potential contacts for Valentin-Rios, an adult with whom they allegedly had no connection.The lawsuit also accuses the platform of failing to warn users about the risks of contacting strangers, the AP reported.After making contact with the girl, Valentin-Rios allegedly began sending explicit images. The child “did not want the photos and initially did not respond, but the design of Snapchat’s products made it impossible for (her) to avoid such explicit content,” the lawsuit states.Court documents further allege that Snapchat’s Snap Maps feature disclosed the girl’s home location to Valentin-Rios without her knowledge.The lawsuit alleges that Valentin-Rios lied about being a 17-year-old local high school student when he was actually 25 years old. He spent some time grooming the girl 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; held 1The family also claims that despite knowing that Valentin-Rios operated multiple accounts on the platform, including one that was allegedly used to contact teenage girls, Snapchat failed to take action.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, roll out safety tutorials, work with experts and work with law enforcement to help prevent abuse of our platform.”The girl has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, the lawsuit states. The plaintiffs are seeking damages and a court order to change practices they claim put children in harm’s way.Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Legal Center, which represents the family, believes the platform’s design played a central role in the case.“This attack did not occur in a vacuum, but rather because the design of Snapchat’s product made it easy for predators to access and manipulate unsuspecting children,” Bergman said.He added: “Snap executives have long known that their features created the perfect environment for predators to exploit children, yet they have repeatedly failed to ensure the safety of the platform.”The Missouri case comes as Snap faces broader legal challenges over child safety concerns.
This is not an isolated case
In 2024, New Mexico sued the company, alleging that Snapchat’s design facilitated sextortion, sexual abuse and unwanted contact between adults and minors. According to the lawsuit, the company knew sextortion on Snapchat was a “massive” and “incredibly concerning problem” but failed to adequately warn parents, users and the public.The judge rejected Snap’s attempt to dismiss the case.Separate lawsuits are also pending against the company, including a case in Vermont involving two 12-year-old girls who were allegedly sexually assaulted after meeting an adult via Snapchat.
