Overview
- Stichting Massaschade & Consument filed a collective lawsuit against Snapchat on Monday seeking technical fixes and damages after talks with the company failed.
- The foundation wants users to be able to disable streaks, snapscore and autoplay, stronger age verification, tougher action on illegal activity, and financial compensation estimated at €500 to €2,500 per affected user.
- Snapchat denies the allegations and points to existing safety tools such as a pause feature while insisting it is committed to a safe platform.
- This is the second recent collective Dutch case targeting Snapchat’s product design, following a SOMI suit in June that argued the app’s gamification maximizes engagement among young users.
- If courts side with the plaintiffs the ruling could force product changes across the EU and affect about six million monthly Dutch users, more than half of whom are under 25, with direct effects on how adolescents use the app.