According to The Verge, Snapchat are being sued. The reasoning behind the lawsuit is due to the popular Discover function. The Discover function is there so editorial platforms and news outlets like Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan and the Daily Mail to name a few, can curate extra content tailored to the Snapchat app.
The lawsuit is arguing that that some of the articles published are too explicit to be put on the platform without parental approval, and given the nature of the platform it’s physically impossible to have any parental approval, the content is there wide open for us all to see.
According to the complaint document republished on The Verge: 'millions of parents in the United States are unaware that Snapchat is curating and publishing this profoundly sexual and offensive content to their children,' this was filed by a 14-year-old from Los Angeles, based upon ‘Snapchat’s unwilful and intentional violations of the Communications Decency Act.’ The sex stories in question are from the first week in July and include content from Cosmopolitan magazine like 10 Things He Thinks When He Can’t Make You Orgasm.
While Snapchat does oversee the content submitted to the Discover page, it is the partners who are responsible for curating it specifically for the app. The lawsuit is seeking civil penalties and would like to see Snapchat introduce a requirement within the app that warns users about the app’s sexual content. We contacted Snapchat for a comment, to which they stated: 'We haven't been served with a complaint in this lawsuit, but we are sorry if people were offended. Our Discover partners have editorial independence, which is something that we support.'
The app is rated 12 and over in the app store, and it is clearly stated in the information that it contains ‘infrequent/mild profanity or crude humor,' 'infrequent/mild sexual content and nudity' and ‘infrequent/mild mature/suggestive themes.’ A massive 23% of Snapchat’s users in the United States are aged between 13 to 17, so it’s no surprise that parents want to see some kind of warning on the app before their children cast their eyes on sexual content, but will this really put a stop to them watching it? A simple ‘are you over 18?’ isn't really going to cut it, is it?
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Follow Alyss on Twitter @alyssbowen
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.