More than 40 families, whose children died as a result of social media harms, Thursday rallied outside of Snap Inc. headquarters to urge the company to make changes on their social media application for the protection of youth.
These families arrived by charter bus to Santa Monica Business Park, where they blocked off the road leading into Snap Inc.’s buildings. The families along with child-safety advocates from Heat Initiatives began painting the names of 108 children and young adults on the road.
Families said their loved ones died due to harms they experienced while using Snapchat, which involved access to drugs and other illicit substances, online bullying and sexual exploitation.
The group urged Snap Inc. to implement safety measures such as the removal of all addictive features, default minor users to the most private settings, remove features that facilitate harmful connections with adults, disable any artificial intelligence chat-companion, implement age assurance, and to stop algorithms that promote harmful information, drugs and child sexual abuse.
A representative for Snap Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Amy Neville, a resident of Aliso Viejo, in Orange County, lost her son, Alexander, in 2020.
“When he was 14 years old, it is my belief that he was connected with a drug dealer on Snapchat that ultimately talked him into trying some things that maybe he hadn’t intended to try,” Neville told City News Service. “He ended up losing his life over it.”
“I really believe that he took one pill one night, and I found him dead in his bedroom the next day,” Neville added.
Neville’s son had acquired a pill he thought was oxycontin that turned out to be fentanyl through social media. The synthetic opioid is known to be 50 times to 100 times stronger than morphine, and a single pill can result in death.
She described Alex as a brilliant kid with a huge curiosity and an incredible sense of adventure. He enjoyed Legos and Pokemon, and learning about history.
“He was only 14 when he died, so he’s still very much a little boy. I just feel that adventuresome spirit. I miss it. He was a lot of fun in our house, definitely a light and so smart and just loved animals,” Neville said.
Neville said she is in the middle of a lawsuit against Snap Inc., and it’s in the discovery phase. Citing legal concerns, she did not continue speaking on the subject.
She added that she goes around the country giving presentations to students and parents about the dangers of social media, sharing her story and that of her son’s.
“I actually just received an award for my work last week, which is weird to say,” Neville told CNS. “I would trade everything … to have my kid back.”
Neville explained that she’s been working with several of the families present for about five years. They’ve had previous rallies but nothing compared to their plans Thursday.
She said that justice is tricky.
“Until legislation or some sort of legal accountability happens, I’m sure it’s going to remain the same because they’re making oodles and oodles of money,” Neville said.
Todd Minor Sr., a resident of Maryland, lost his 12-year-old son Matthew in 2019, to the “addictive, harmful and careless social media applications like Snapchat,” he said. Minor’s son died as a result of a TikTok challenge.
“We honor those that we have lost today by standing boldly in front of Snap Inc. to speak our truth, which is not easy still. We push through united in our incredible pain and drive for change for the Santa Monica community, which may unknowingly harbor this heartless Snap, Inc, and for our nation,” Minor said.
“So this does not happen to another young person. The pain we have experienced or the pain we experienced at their hands has truly shown us who and what is important,” Minor added.
The action comes amid an ongoing landmark civil trial that began Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The lawsuit is challenging companies such as Meta and YouTube for promoting addictive products. There are thousands of similar suits pending in state and federal courts, the Los Angeles Times reported. Two other defendants, TikTok and Snap, settled for undisclosed sums to avoid the trial this week.
Social media companies are shielded by a 1996 law, known as Section 230, which provides protections for Internet publishers from liability for user content. The issue is further complicated by the First Amendment, which provides protections for speech.