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Texas Sues Snap Over Snapchat’s Alleged Deception on Child Safety and Addictive Design

The case advances Texas’ campaign to police minors’ online safety using consumer‑protection statutes.

Overview

  • Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the case in Collin County, alleging violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and multiple provisions of the SCOPE Act.
  • Texas says Snapchat markets itself as 12+ in app stores yet exposes young users to profanity, sexual content, nudity and drug use.
  • The complaint cites features such as Snapstreaks, Snapscore, Snap Map, infinite scroll, My AI and disappearing messages as design elements that drive compulsive use by minors.
  • Paxton seeks up to $10,000 per violation, a jury trial, and a permanent injunction that could force changes to marketing and age ratings, strengthen parental verification and tools, require disclosures about design, and bar advertising the app to children.
  • Snap says the lawsuit distorts how the platform operates, pointing to existing safeguards and safety resources, and the filing follows earlier Texas actions targeting platforms like TikTok and Roblox.