Parents Sue Snapchat After Son Dies from Fentanyl Pill He Allegedly Got on App

The dad and mom of a 14-year-old boy who died over 2 years in the past after taking a fentanyl-laced tablet they are saying he bought from a seller he discovered on Snapchat at the moment are taking the social media firm to court docket over his loss of life.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Amy and Aaron Neville, plus a handful of different dad and mom who misplaced their youngsters to the same destiny, are suing Snapchat — saying it “facilitates the overwhelming majority of lethal fentanyl sales.”

The docs say Snap’s course of for disabling recognized harmful accounts on the platform is damaged … saying “Snap provides no reporting mechanism, staffed email address, or even a phone number for users to report underage, dangerous, or violating use of its social media product.”

The lawsuit additionally alleges Snap is particularly designed to draw youngsters and illicit exercise, pointing to the options like disappearing messages that make it arduous to hint unlawful drug transactions that will go down on the app.

Amy’s now the VP of Void — a nonprofit that fights in opposition to the unfold of unlawful medication like fentanyl — and her org lately claimed social media firms throughout the board aren’t doing sufficient to chop off the connection between youngsters and sellers.

She’s mentioned the entry to medication via the app was manner too simple … believing Alexander would not have put himself in a scenario that was in individual — however dealing behind a display made it a lot easier.

Snapchat’s lately mentioned it has been working to handle the problem … doubling down on efforts to ban drug seller accounts and blocking search outcomes that contain drug key phrases.

The plaintiffs are looking for damages, in addition to for stricter motion to be taken on the platform to assist forestall any extra fatalities sooner or later.

A rep for Snap tells us, “The trafficking of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl is an urgent national crisis. We are devastated that these counterfeit drugs have taken the lives of so many people, and our hearts go out to families who have suffered unimaginable losses. We are committed to bringing every resource to bear to help fight this national crisis, both on Snapchat and across the tech industry overall.”