Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has filed a 63-page lawsuit against Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, alleging the social media platform’s design and business practices have exposed minors to safety risks while violating state consumer protection laws.
The lawsuit, filed June 23 in Phillips County Circuit Court, accuses Snap of engaging in deceptive and unconscionable trade practices, creating a public nuisance and unjustly enriching itself at the expense of Arkansas consumers. The state alleges Snapchat misrepresented the safety of its platform while profiting from features that exposed children and teenagers to risks including exploitation, sextortion, illegal drug activity, mental health harms and other dangers.
According to the complaint, several core Snapchat features — including disappearing messages, Snapstreaks, Snapscores, friend rankings, push notifications, Discover, Spotlight, Quick Add, Snap Map, beauty filters and the platform’s My AI chatbot — were designed in ways that encouraged prolonged use among young users and made parental oversight more difficult.
A central allegation in the lawsuit involves Snapchat’s disappearing-message feature. The state argues the design creates a false sense of privacy and security, encouraging users to share content they might not otherwise send. The complaint further alleges the feature can make it more difficult for parents, educators and law enforcement to preserve evidence or investigate cases involving exploitation, extortion and other criminal activity.
The complaint also alleges Snapchat has failed to effectively enforce its minimum age requirement of 13 years old. According to the lawsuit, users primarily verify their age through self-reported birth dates and can potentially circumvent restrictions by creating additional accounts or providing different age information.
State officials also challenge Snapchat’s Family Center parental controls, alleging the system relies on a child’s participation, provides limited visibility into communications and can be bypassed through alternate accounts. The lawsuit contends the platform’s safety features do not provide parents with meaningful oversight despite representations that Snapchat is a safe environment for younger users.
Another major focus of the lawsuit is Snapchat’s My AI chatbot, which is powered by OpenAI technology. The complaint alleges the feature was released despite concerns about inaccurate or inappropriate responses and cites testing that allegedly produced advice involving topics such as alcohol, drugs, sexual activity and other sensitive subjects. The lawsuit also claims My AI collects extensive user data, including information related to chats, images, voice interactions and location services.
The complaint further alleges Snap profits from collecting and using data generated by users on the platform. According to the lawsuit, the company gathers information related to user activity, content interactions, location-related data and personal preferences to support targeted advertising. The state notes that advertising has accounted for the vast majority of Snap’s revenue in recent years and cites company reports showing approximately $4.6 billion in revenue during 2022.
The lawsuit cites Arkansas criminal cases as examples of alleged misuse of the platform, including a 2024 Johnson County case involving allegations that a law enforcement officer used Snapchat to groom a child and a Texarkana case that resulted in a 30-year prison sentence after a defendant used the platform while committing crimes involving a minor.
In addition to concerns involving individual users, Arkansas argues the alleged harms associated with Snapchat create broader public costs through increased demands on mental health services, school-based programs, crisis intervention efforts, family support services and law enforcement resources funded by taxpayers.
The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties, damages, restitution, attorney fees and the forfeiture of profits allegedly derived through unlawful conduct. Under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the state is also seeking civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.
The allegations contained in the lawsuit have not been proven in court, and no findings of liability have been made.
As of publication, Deltaplex News has not received a response from Snap Inc. regarding the allegations outlined in the lawsuit.
