Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against Snapchat’s parent company on Tuesday, alleging that the platform violates a 2024 state law regulating minor access to social media and engages in deceptive business practices under Florida’s consumer protection laws.

Filed in the Circuit Court for Santa Rosa County, the complaint accuses Snap of “knowingly and openly” defying House Bill 3 by permitting children under 14 to create accounts and failing to verify parental consent for users aged 14 and 15, despite the company’s admission in other litigation that it is subject to the law. Each such violation is alleged to also constitute a violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA).

Under HB 3, social media platforms that employ any of five addictive design features and serve large numbers of minors must prohibit access to children under 14 and obtain verified parental consent for users aged 14 or 15. The lawsuit alleges Snapchat incorporates at least four of these features: infinite scrolling, push notifications, auto-play videos, and personal interactive metrics such as Snapstreaks and Snapscore.

The 36-page complaint seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation under HB 3, and punitive damages for what the state characterizes as a “consistent pattern of knowing or reckless conduct.”

“We take the safety and security of children very seriously, and 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,” said Uthmeier. “Snap is deceiving Florida parents about the dangers children face on the app, from behavioral addictive features to allowing sexual predators and drug dealers access, and we cannot allow this deception to continue.”

The Attorney General alleges that Snapchat’s design choices mimic characteristics of behavioral addictions and that the company monetizes some of these mechanisms, including charging fees to restore Snapstreaks.

In addition to the statutory violations, the lawsuit asserts that Snap engages in unfair and deceptive practices by misrepresenting Snapchat’s safety and content moderation capabilities. Snap classifies its app as suitable for users aged 12 and older in Apple’s App Store and “T for Teen” in other platforms, based on self-reported content disclosures. According to the complaint, these classifications are misleading in light of what the state describes as widespread availability of explicit, violent, and drug-related content accessible to minors.

The Complaint outlines that an investigator from the Attorney General’s Office created an account using a 13-year-old’s birthdate and accessed sexually explicit videos, references to drug use and suicide, and alcohol advertising.

The complaint additionally cites examples where Snapchat allegedly facilitated contact between minors and adult predators, including a 2023 case in which a Navarre man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for using Snapchat to solicit child pornography.

Snapchat’s AI chatbot, My AI, is also criticized in the filing for allegedly offering inappropriate guidance to teens, including advice on masking alcohol use and sexual activity with adults. The complaint argues that Snap failed to implement safeguards to prevent harmful interactions between the chatbot and minor users.

The filing further claims that Snap misrepresents the effectiveness of its Family Center parental control tool, noting that it requires parental accounts to be linked by teen approval and provides only limited insight into user activity. According to the state, fewer than 0.3% of Florida parents use the tool.