Parents who blame Snapchat for their children's deaths protest outside company's headquarters
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Standing in front of Snap’s Santa Monica offices, parents clutched onto photos of their children who died from taking fentanyl-laced pills facilitated through the disappearing messaging app Snapchat.They rolled white paint onto the ground, spelling out the names of 108 children who died from alleged social media harms.“Snapchat: Protect kids not predators,” a banner read.
Yellow signs with images of dead children accused the company of being an “accomplice” to “murder,” videos and photos of the demonstration showed.More than 40 parents attended Thursday’s protest, an event organized by Heat Initiative, an advocacy group that focuses on holding tech companies accountable for failing to protect kids online.“For years, families have watched their children die from fentanyl poisoning and sexual exploitation facilitated by Snapchat’s design—and for years, Snapchat has fought to avoid any meaningful accountability,” said Sarah Gardner, chief executive of Heat Initiative, in a statement.The demonstration highlighted the mounting pressure social media companies such as Snap continue to face as a landmark trial in Los Angeles over whether tech companies such as Instagram and YouTube can be held liable for allegedly promoting a harmful product and addicting users to their platforms continues in Los Angeles.TikTok and Snap, the parent company of disappearing-messaging app Snapchat, settled for undisclosed sums to avoid the trial.Parents who allege the Santa Monica company is responsible for drug sales facilitated through the app have also sued Snap.
Parents who attended this week’s protest urged the company to do more to safeguard young people from predators and called for Snap to disable its AI chatbot.Business More than 60 families are suing Snap, arguing the Santa Monica-based company is responsible for drug sales to teens that are facilitated through its app...