The families of more than 60 young people who died of fentanyl overdoses said Snapchat’s algorithm helps connect children with drug dealers.
Expanding arguments from a lawsuit filed against Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, in October in Los Angeles, the victims’ families now say the company was too busy chasing profits to recognize their social media app became known as an “open-air drug market,” according to an update to the suit filed Tuesday.
“Snap and Snapchat’s role in illicit drug sales to teens was the foreseeable result of the designs, structures, and policies Snap chose to implement to increase its revenues,” the updated lawsuit states.
“Snapchat is the go-to means to distribute drugs to children, teens, and young adults through social media, and is involved in a far greater number of fentanyl poisoning deaths of U.S. teens than other social media apps.”
The lawsuit points to Snapchat’s key feature — where messages between users are automatically deleted — as a design drug dealers are abusing. The families argue the feature is clearly marketed for those engaging in crimes they want to keep hidden.
“A motivation for Snapchat’s disappearing feature — not just disappearing between users but permanently destroyed on the back end as well — was to … provide cover for those engaged in illicit and illegal conduct,” the lawsuit claims.
Sam Chapman, whose son died of fentanyl poisoning in 2021, told Fox 11 the app’s features created the perfect environment for his child and...
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