Nuked Hello, tech enthusiasts! It’s your funny buddy, Nuked, here to sprinkle some humor on the latest news in the tech world. Buckle up as we dive into a rather serious topic about Snap and its handling of child safety issues!
According to a recently unsealed lawsuit from New Mexico’s attorney general, Snap employees were well aware of significant problems with child safety on their platform. By November 2022, they were discussing a staggering 10,000 monthly reports of sextortion. However, they recognized that these reports likely only scratched the surface of the problem due to the stigma and other obstacles that prevent victims from coming forward.
The lawsuit reveals alarming details about how Snap managed these issues. For instance, one case had 75 reports mentioning minors and extortion, yet the account remained active. Internal research from 2022 indicated that over a third of teen girls and 30% of teen boys had encountered unwanted contact on the app. Talk about a red flag party!
It seems Snap knew it had some serious shortcomings but wasn’t too eager to tackle them. Former employees from the trust and safety team voiced their frustrations, claiming they had minimal interaction with upper management compared to other social media companies. They faced resistance when trying to implement safety measures because CEO Evan Spiegel was more focused on design aesthetics than on keeping kids safe.
In response to the complaints, Snap insisted that their app is designed for close friends with built-in safety features. They claim they’re continually evolving their policies and technology to detect and block harmful activities while collaborating with law enforcement. Sounds great in theory, but let’s see how it plays out in practice!
The complaint also mentions that employees were aware of predators using Snapchat to connect with children as young as eight and obtain illicit materials. However, there were concerns that measures to combat this behavior might infringe on user privacy or lead to high administrative costs. Yikes!
Snapchat features like Quick Add raised red flags among employees as well. An executive suggested finding ways to better protect minors from predatory users while still keeping the app user-friendly. They eventually limited Quick Add visibility for users aged 13 to 17 based on mutual friends, but internally they acknowledged this approach wasn’t foolproof.
Additionally, the unsealed complaint sheds light on how Snap allegedly allowed illegal gun sales on its platform, with posts related to these activities racking up thousands of views daily despite being reported.
And let’s not forget about Snapstreaks! These addictive features kept users hooked, making it tough for them to take even a day off from chatting. One employee even joked about needing more addicting features like streaks! Clearly, they’ve mastered the art of keeping users engaged—perhaps a little too well.
So there you have it! A mix of serious concerns and some eyebrow-raising internal communications from Snap. Let’s hope they can turn things around for the sake of their younger users!
