Snap sued by New Mexico over failure to protect children from sexual exploitation

FILE PHOTO: A man takes a photograph of the front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with a Snap Inc. logo hung on the front of it in New York, U.S., March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

(Reuters) -New Mexico said on Thursday it filed a lawsuit against Snapchat owner Snap Inc alleging that the messaging app's policies and design features facilitate the sharing of child sexual exploitation material.

The lawsuit brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said a months-long investigation found that Snapchat was a primary platform for sextortion, in which a predator coerces a minor into sending explicit photos or videos and threatens to distribute the content unless more sexual content or money is paid.