Attorney General James Uthmeier (R), who has also filed briefs in cases to defend President Trump's ability to fire senior officials in the executive branch who are not in line with the president's child safety philosophy, says the social media platform knowingly and willingly broke Florida statute enshrined in last year's HB 3 and the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
"We take the safety and security of children very seriously," Uthmeier said when this legal action was announced. "As part of our mission to make Florida the best place to raise a family, we are holding social media platforms that harm children accountable."
The attorney general accuses Snap, Inc., the operator of the popular Snapchat social media company, of deceiving Florida parents about the dangers their children face on the app – like behavioral addictive features and allowing sexual predators and drug dealers access.
"There are sick people out there, and they're using these social media applications to find their ways into your homes, to reach out to your kids," he said. "We were tracking a registered sex offender who for months was online pretending to be other people, seducing young people into sending photographs."
A press release from Uthmeier explains that HB 3, signed into law by Governor Ron Desantis (R) on March 25, 2024, identifies five addictive design features some social media platforms use to promote behavioral addiction and compulsive use.
Snapchat utilizes four of those, including infinite scrolling, push notifications, personal interactive metrics that indicate the number of times other users have clicked a button to reveal their reaction to content or have shared or reposed content (such as SnapStreaks), and auto-play videos.
He further notes that Florida's law prohibits social media platforms that deploy those features from contracting with and providing accounts to people who the apps know are 13 years of age or younger. HB 3 requires platforms to obtain parental consent before contracting with and providing accounts to people who are 14 or 15 years old.
The law, also known as "Online Protections for Minors," has been challenged by industry groups like the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and NetChoice, arguing it violates minors' First Amendment rights and infringes on their access to protected speech.
A federal judge ruled that the industry groups did not have legal standing to fight the measure, but they are expected to file a revised lawsuit and are again seeking a preliminary injunction.
AFN is seeking comment from Snapchat.
