Pennsylvania Attorney General Sues Snapchat Over Addictive Design and Youth-Unsafe Content

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday brought a consumer-protection suit against Snap Inc. in Philadelphia County Court, asserting that Snapchat’s design deliberately encourages compulsive engagement by minors through mechanisms like Snapstreaks, infinite scroll, notifications and disappearing messages. The complaint says these features increase time spent on the app, generating advertising dollars while exposing young users to mature content, including profanity, drug and alcohol references and sexual material, which the state says is not reflected in the app’s 13+ or “T for Teen” ratings.

Sunday highlighted that millions of Pennsylvanians, including tens of thousands under 16, use Snapchat, and that Snap’s North American operations earned over $5.3 billion in 2024. The state seeks a declaration that Snap’s practices violate Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, civil penalties and injunctive relief. Snap’s statement called the allegations a misrepresentation, emphasizing the app’s camera-first design and its ongoing efforts to improve safety tools and education. The lawsuit follows a similar action Sunday filed against TikTok earlier this month.