Photo courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services.
PHILADELPHIA - Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has launched legal action against Snap, Inc., claiming the company fails to safeguard minor users from addiction and misrepresents the safety of its content to reach younger audiences.
The state's allegations
What we know:
The lawsuit, submitted this week in Philadelphia County Court, accuses the tech firm of engineering Snapchat to foster compulsive habits among adolescents. State prosecutors allege that features like SnapStreaks and self-deleting messages exploit teenage psychology to encourage overuse that they contend is harmful to youth development.
The state also alleges that Snap, Inc. misleads consumers regarding the prevalence of adult content on its platform.
According to the complaint, the company downplays the presence of explicit material—including nudity, substance abuse and references to self-harm—to secure a 13+ age rating on major mobile app distribution platforms.
Through the legal filing, the Office of Attorney General is seeking court orders that would require Snapchat to update its app store ratings, publicly address the addictive nature of its service and implement mandatory youth safety measures.
What they're saying:
"Snapchat has designed its platform to lure children into constant, compulsive use that is detrimental to healthy adolescent development," Attorney General Sunday said in a statement. "This lawsuit demands that Snapchat finally admit publicly that its platform is highly addictive and that it takes real action to keep kids safe."
A poster from the press conference announcing the lawsuit. (Photo courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services).
The complaint highlights the app's widespread adoption, pointing to Pew Research Center data showing that about half of U.S. teenagers use Snapchat daily, with 13% reporting they use the platform "almost constantly."
Snap's response
The other side:
In response to legal action, a spokesperson for Snap, Inc. defended the app's core design while expressing disappointment with the lawsuit.
"The allegations against Snap fundamentally misrepresent our platform and our approach to teen safety," the statement read. "Snapchat was designed differently from the beginning: it opens to a camera, not a feed of content, and was built to encourage self-expression and authentic connection with friends."
Addressing the legal challenge directly, the spokesperson said that Snap shares the state's goals, even if they disagree on the path forward.
"We share the Attorney General’s commitment to protecting young people online and are disappointed they have chosen litigation rather than working with us toward that shared goal," the statement continued. "We remain focused on strengthening and enhancing the safeguards, tools and educational resources that support the safety, privacy and well-being of all Snapchatters."
Snap, Inc. has also disputed similar allegations in the past, maintaining that its platform features strong safety protections for teens.
Part of broader tech crackdown
Dig deeper:
The legal action against Snapchat marks the latest step in a series of tech-industry enforcement actions by Pennsylvania state prosecutors.
Earlier this month, Sunday filed a similar consumer protection lawsuit against TikTok, alleging the app uses addictive features and misrepresents content safety ratings.
His office has also issued demand letters to artificial intelligence companies regarding concerns over unsafe chatbots, remains involved in multi-state litigation against Meta and is working alongside state lawmakers on broader consumer privacy legislation.
The Source: Information from Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday's office, the Pew Research Center and The Associated Press.