(InvestigateTV) — The New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez recently filed suit against Meta and Snap, Inc. in an effort to protect children.
“What people need to understand is that whenever they’re handing a device to a child in their home, they are in effect handing an opportunity for a predator in the community, anywhere in the world to identify that child,” Torrez said.
Torrez has made it his mission to protect children from online dangers.
“The way that the social media landscape has evolved—is simply not safe for children,” he stated.
The lawsuits allege that Snapchat’s policies and recommendation algorithm foster the sharing of child sexual abuse material and facilitate child sexual exploitation.
As part of his case against Meta, Torrez carried out an undercover investigation, creating decoy accounts of children 14 years and under.
“We created a decoy profile of what appeared to be, you know, a young, a young girl on the platform is actually one of our undercover agents,” Torrez explained. “And it was astonishing the speed with which she was contacted and solicited for sex.”
Torrez wants to see legislative action from Congress to strengthen security on social media.
In the meantime, he recommends parents actively monitor their children’s online activity and to discuss the importance of not sharing private information with strangers.
Our national investigative team reached out to Snap, Inc. and Meta for comment A Meta spokesperson said in a statement that it has developed new tools for parents and teens.
In particular the company says its created “teen accounts” on Instagram. Those accounts limit who can contact them and what content they see.
