Pennsylvania sues Snapchat over deceptive app ratings, addictive design

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, alleging the social media platform is deceptively labeled in app stores and its design is dangerously addictive for children and teenagers. The complaint, filed on August 25 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, accuses Snap of violating the state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law through misleading age ratings and features that promote compulsive use.

The lawsuit centers on three counts. The first alleges that Snap provided false information to app stores, resulting in a 13+ age rating that does not reflect the platform's actual content. An investigator from the attorney general's office created a new account on a fresh iPhone, and the resulting content included videos depicting drug use, explicit sexual advertisements, and captions from users identifying themselves as 14 or 15 years old. The complaint states this material contradicts the app store descriptions, which indicate only infrequent mature themes.

The second and third counts focus on Snapchat's design. The lawsuit argues that Snap failed to disclose the app's addictive nature and...