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7 Shocking Ways States Are Suing Snapchat: The Real Story Behind 'Do It For The State'

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The phrase "Do It For The State" has a long, complex history, often used ironically in sports or political contexts, but in late 2024 and throughout 2025, it has taken on a dramatically new and deeply serious meaning directly tied to the Snapchat platform. The current context is no longer a meme or a political slogan; it is a reference to the unprecedented legal and regulatory crackdown by state governments across the U.S. that are actively suing Snap, Inc. to hold the company accountable for a wave of serious harms to minors, including the facilitation of deadly drug sales and a growing teen mental health crisis.

As of December 17, 2025, the legal battle between numerous state attorneys general and the social media giant has escalated into a massive, multi-front war, shifting the conversation from user-generated content to accusations that the app's very design is "unreasonably dangerous." This article dives deep into the specific allegations, the key legal entities involved, and the legislative changes that are fundamentally reshaping the future of social media regulation.

The State-Level Legal Assault: Why Snap, Inc. is Under Fire

The core of the "Do It For The State Snapchat" narrative is the coordinated legal action being taken by state governments. These lawsuits allege that Snapchat’s design features—such as disappearing messages, the Snap Map, and its "My AI" chatbot—are inherently manipulative and dangerous to its young user base, which includes 48.6 million Gen Z users in the U.S..

The legal strategy is to bypass the traditional shield of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which typically protects platforms from liability for third-party content. Instead, the states are focusing on product liability and consumer protection laws, arguing that the app itself is a defective product that causes harm.

1. The Fentanyl Crisis and Drug Sales on the Platform

Perhaps the most devastating allegation is Snapchat's alleged role in the Fentanyl crisis. Lawsuits filed by families, consolidated into a Multidistrict Litigation (MDL), claim the app's features actively facilitate the sale of deadly, fentanyl-laced pills to teenagers.

  • The Allegation: Plaintiffs argue that Snapchat’s design encourages drug dealers to promote sales with little scrutiny and connects predatory dealers with vulnerable teenagers.
  • Snap Map's Role: The lawsuits specifically cite the Snap Map feature, which pinpoints a user's geographical location, giving dealers "instant access" to thousands of young people in their communities, making drug transactions shockingly easy.
  • Legal Milestone: A key ruling in December 2024 denied Snap's petition for discretionary review, allowing plaintiffs to move forward with discovery and review internal company documents to learn what the company knew about these deadly sales.

2. Lawsuits Over Teen Mental Health and Addiction

A central theme of the state lawsuits is the claim that Snapchat’s design is addictive and contributes to severe mental health issues among minors, including anxiety, low self-esteem, and suicidal thoughts.

  • Utah's Action: The Utah Attorney General and the state’s Department of Commerce filed a lawsuit in June 2025, alleging the app is addictive, deceptively marketed as safe for kids, and violates the Utah Consumer Privacy Act.
  • MDL Consolidation: Nearly 2,000 individuals, alongside over 800 school districts and 44 state attorneys general, are suing Snapchat and other social media companies, alleging the platforms use features that are harmful to children’s developing brains.

3. The Battle Over Age Verification and Florida's HB 3

State governments are pushing for strict age verification, leading to direct legal clashes with Snap, Inc. The most prominent example is in Florida.

  • Florida AG’s Lawsuit: In November 2025, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier accused Snapchat of violating the state's 2024 law, HB 3, which is intended to safeguard children from social media platforms. The suit alleges Snapchat knowingly allows underage children to start accounts.
  • Snapchat's Response: Snap’s attorneys have "snapped back," arguing that the age-verification requirements violate the First Amendment rights of both minors and adults by effectively forcing everyone to surrender sensitive personal information before accessing protected speech.

4. Sexual Exploitation and the Sextortion Allegations

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed a separate, major lawsuit in September 2024, focusing on the app's failure to protect children from sexual exploitation.

  • The Concern: The state alleged that the app's policies and features do not adequately protect children from "sextortion," where a user coerces a minor to send sexually explicit images and then blackmails the victim.
  • High-Profile Cases: The legal landscape includes cases where teachers used Snapchat to lure students into sexual relationships, with attorneys now asking the Supreme Court to reconsider Section 230 immunity in such contexts.

Key Entities and Legislative Drivers Shaping the Future of Snapchat

The wave of state-level action has brought numerous legal and governmental entities into the spotlight, each playing a critical role in the ongoing drama. This is a complex legal environment that goes beyond simple user complaints.

The Legislative Pressure: Federal and State Acts

  • Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA): Passed by the U.S. Senate in July 2024, this bill package aims to force social media companies to enhance protections for young users and implement more effective parental controls.
  • Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0): Part of the federal push, this aims to strengthen privacy rules for minors online.
  • Florida HB 3: A state-level law passed in 2024 that is directly challenging Snapchat's age-verification practices and is the subject of one of the major state lawsuits.
  • Utah Consumer Privacy Act: Cited in the Utah lawsuit, this shows states are leveraging their own unique consumer protection laws to target social media design.

The Judicial and Legal Entities

  • Multidistrict Litigation (MDL No. 3047): This is the central hub for nearly all federal social media harm lawsuits, including those against Snapchat. As of December 2, 2025, it contained 2,191 pending cases.
  • Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers: The judge overseeing the MDL, who in June 2025 named bellwether trials—key test cases that will likely determine the trajectory of the entire litigation.
  • Section 230: The 1996 law that is the primary legal defense for Snap, Inc., which is being aggressively challenged by state attorneys general and plaintiffs’ lawyers who argue it should not shield companies from claims based on defective product design.

The Broader Implications: The End of Social Media Immunity?

The sheer volume of state-level lawsuits—from Florida to New Mexico to Utah—suggests a coordinated governmental effort that is much larger than a single, isolated controversy. The phrase "Do It For The State" has become a literal mandate for accountability.

The ongoing litigation, particularly the fentanyl-related claims, represents the first time a court has allowed parents to move forward with lawsuits based on the app’s alleged role in facilitating the sale of deadly drugs, moving past the Section 230 defense. This shift, which allows for discovery and the review of internal company documents, could be a game-changer.

If the states are successful in their claims that Snapchat's design is an "unreasonably dangerous product," it will set a nationwide precedent. This would force a fundamental redesign of the platform, potentially requiring stricter age verification, eliminating features like Snap Map for minors, and dramatically increasing content moderation to curtail illegal activities. The outcome of these 2025 legal battles will define the future of online safety and the legal immunity of all social media platforms.

7 Shocking Ways States Are Suing Snapchat: The Real Story Behind 'Do It For The State'
do it for the state snapchat
do it for the state snapchat

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