The Sunday Times quotes Adam Scott Wandt from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York calling Snapchat a 'haven” for abusers, arguing that the 'self-destruct' nature of Snapchat's messages 'makes it difficult for the police to collect evidence.' police ' investigating three cases of child exploitation a day linked to the app, messages that self-destruct allowing groomers to avoid detection.' The newspaper's investigation has uncovered 'thousands of reported cases that have involved Snapchat since 2014,' including 'pedophiles using the app to elicit indecent images from children and to groom teenagers,' as well as 'under-18s spreading child pornography themselves.' This has now resulted in U.K. Ironically, it is this limited user data that is central to the Sunday Times investigation.
Unauthorized access of any kind is a clear violation of the company's standards of business conduct and, if detected, results in immediate termination.'
We keep very little user data, and we have robust policies and controls to limit internal access to the data we do have, including data within tools designed to support law enforcement. A Snap spokesperson told me that 'a ny perception that employees might be spying on our community is highly troubling and wholly inaccurate.
