Snapchat is under fresh pressure over its child safety, AI-powered features and privacy practices as legal challenges against tech firms ramp up in the US. The fresh concerns come as a growing wave of lawsuits accuse social media platforms and artificial intelligence companies of exposing children and teenagers to potential harm.
The legal pressure on Snap comes as the company and its peers continue to expand their AI offerings, including tools geared toward younger users, CNBC reported. A string of high-profile lawsuits and settlements involving Meta, Google, TikTok and YouTube have broadened the conversation on the responsibility of technology platforms for children.
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The recent update follows Snap’s decision to settle a lawsuit quietly which was filed by two minors who claimed that the technology of the company affected them psychologically. The deal comes just a few days after TikTok, YouTube and Meta resolved a similar case where similar claims were made regarding the implications of social media addiction on children.
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Nonetheless, worries are not limited to social media platforms only. This week, Google was accused by a teenager’s parents after the company’s Gemini AI chatbot in Google Classroom resulted in a psychological crisis for the young user.
The case has led to raising concerns regarding the risks linked to the implement AI technologies in schools where children are among the users of such technologies.
Reportedly, lawyers of the parents have said that Google went ahead with the integration of Gemini into Chromebooks for schools despite knowing about the risks.
According to the founder and director of research and programs from Children and Screens, Kate Blocker, it is crucial to think about the safety of children while developing AI products and social media services.
The legal issues don’t just affect technology companies on the operational level, but also on the financial and reputational level. Meta has agreed to a settlement in August of around $17 billion over a child mental health lawsuit brought against it by some state attorneys general in the US. However, the company is still facing other lawsuits.
AI companies are also facing increasing scrutiny as they are not immune to such legal issues. OpenAI has been facing lawsuits from a number of state attorneys general and private parties for allegedly having safety issues in its products.
CNBC reports that all these lawsuits can pose a serious risk to technology companies planning for initial public offerings and rise in valuations of their stocks. Anthropic, which is also considering going public, has pointed out the risk of legal actions in its IPO prospectus.
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