Heloise Goy with Alexis Patri
Tammy Rodriguez, an American mother from Connecticut, is filing a lawsuit against Snapchat and Instagram. She accuses the two social networks of being behind the suicide of Selena, her 11-year-old daughter and addicted to these two applications, last July. A complaint that is not the first of its kind.
Are social networks responsible for the discomfort of some adolescents? This is what an internal study by Facebook, supposed to remain secret, advanced a few months ago. That’s also what Tammy Rodriguez thinks. This American, mother from Connecticut, accuses Snapchat and Instagram of having caused the suicide of her daughter, Selena, 11, last July. She filed a complaint against both apps.
According to Tammy Rodriguez, her daughter had become addicted to social networks, to the point of being taken care of by a doctor. A doctor who has seen the harmful consequences of this addiction: loss of sleep, eating disorders and mutilation. Symptoms that would have worsened further with the pandemic.
Snapchat’s regrets, Facebook’s silence
It was in federal court in San Francisco that Tammy Rodriguez decided to sue the two companies. Snapchat and Instagram are accused of lacking parental controls, seeking to exploit users’ touchiness, and sharing dangerous and flawed social media products.
Faced with this accusation, the Snapchat application said it was “devastated to learn of Selena’s death”. For its part, Meta (former Facebook group and parent company of Instagram), did not grant a comment to the press.
Another complaint has also been filed on the same subject: Snapchat and Meta are also accused of being responsible for numerous mental health problems of a 15-year-old teenager.