In a significant legal development in California, a collection of families who lost children and teenagers to fentanyl overdoses have sued Snapchat, claiming that the social media site enabled the sale of illegal drugs, including the lethal synthetic opioid fentanyl, which is stronger than heroin. Because of its cheap manufacturing cost, fentanyl is routinely marketed discreetly in various forms, and even little dosages may be fatal. The site is being held responsible for a string of juvenile overdoses in this case, which may significantly alter the way social media platforms function and are held to account.
More than sixty members of the families suing each other have allegedly used Snapchat to get illicit substances, according to an ABC News article. The purported narcotics were acquired via Snapchat advertisements, and in almost all instances (with the exception of two), the children or teenagers who consumed them perished. Company managers allegedly knew the platform was a sanctuary for the selling of illicit narcotics due to its architecture and unique characteristics, according to the complaint.
Historically, the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230 has been a boon to digital businesses like Snapchat. Judge Lawrence P. Riff of the Los Angeles Supreme Court decided on Tuesday that the parents’ case would go forward, despite Snapchat’s earlier effort to dismiss it in October. A number of Snapchat features, including geolocation, automatically erased messages, and the privacy feature “My Eyes Only,” are said in the complaint to make it difficult to monitor illicit operations, particularly those involving drug sellers.
In an interview with Good Morning America in October, lead prosecutor Amy Neville said that her son Alexander, who was 14 years old, died in 2020 from the effects of an overdose of oxycodone and fentanyl that he allegedly obtained from a Snapchat stranger. Neville said that Alexander was getting ready to start freshman year of high school at the time. The report states that Snapchat has previously acknowledged its use of “advanced technology” to ensure user safety, citing its assistance with drug dealer investigations and its efforts to create a Family Center to provide parents with better visibility into their children’s Snapchat use.
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