New Mexico
Details from New Mexico's lawsuit against Snap show site failed to act on reports of sextortion
Snapchat failed to act on “rampant” reports of child grooming, sextortion and other dangers to minors on its platform, according to a newly unredacted complaint against the company filed by New Mexico’s attorney general.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the original complaint on Sept. 4, but internal messages and other details were heavily redacted. Tuesday’s filing unveils internal messages among Snap Inc. employees and executives that provide “further confirmation that Snapchat’s harmful design features create an environment that fosters sextortion, sexual abuse and unwanted contact from adults to minors,” Torrez said in a news release.
For instance, former trust and safety employees complained there was “pushback” from management when they tried to add safety mechanisms, according to the lawsuit. Employees also noted that user reports on grooming and sextortion — persuading a person to send explicit photos online and then threatening to make the images public unless the victim pays money or engages in sexual favors — were falling through the cracks. At one point, an account remained active despite 75 reports against it over mentions of “nudes, minors and extortion.”
Snap said in a statement that its platform was designed “with built-in safety guardrails” and that the company made “deliberate design choices to make it difficult for strangers to discover minors on our service.”
“We continue to evolve our safety mechanisms and policies, from leveraging advanced technology to detect and block certain activity, to prohibiting friending from suspicious accounts, to working alongside law enforcement and government agencies, among so much more,” the company said.
According to the lawsuit, Snap was well aware, but failed to warn parents, young users and the public that “sextortion was a rampant, ‘massive,’ and ‘incredibly concerning issue’ on Snapchat.”
A November 2022 internal email from a trust and safety employee says Snapchat was getting “around 10,000” user reports of sextortion each month.
“If this is correct, we have an incredibly concerning issue on our hands, in my humble opinion,” the email continues.
Another employee replied that it’s worth noting that the number likely represents a “small fraction of this abuse,” since users may be embarrassed and because sextortion is “not easy to categorize” when trying to report it on the site.
Torrez filed the lawsuit against Santa Monica, California-based Snap Inc. in state court in Santa Fe. In addition to sexual abuse, the lawsuit claims the company also openly promotes child trafficking and the sale of illicit drugs and guns.
New Mexico
Virgin Galactic partners with nonprofit for menstruation research in space
Virgin Galactic is partnering with the nonprofit group Operation Period to research menstruation in space.
NEW MEXICO – Virgin Galactic plans a research flight on menstruation in space, aiming to study how microgravity could affect hormones and menstrual cycles on longer trips.
Virgin Galactic is partnering with the nonprofit group Operation Period to research menstruation in space.
The company plans to launch flights next year, and one of them will focus on the effects of microgravity on menstruation.
Two women researchers are currently training for the flight.
They say they hope to reveal how future space travel could affect hormones and the menstrual cycle, especially over long durations in space.
New Mexico
Patrick M. Brenner: New Mexico can’t afford permitting paralysis | Alamogordo News
New Mexico
Storms continue across eastern New Mexico into Friday
Grant’s Thursday Evening Forecast
Showers and thunderstorms will continue in eastern New Mexico tonight into Friday. Breezy winds will bring an elevated fire danger in the western half of the state.
Thunderstorms are firing up Thursday afternoon along and east of New Mexico’s central mountain chain while gusty south winds over 30 mph are driving an elevated fire danger across western parts of the state. Storms will continue spreading across eastern New Mexico through this evening, bringing locally heavy rainfall, lightning, small hail, and gusty winds. The winds will weaken later tonight, but showers and thunderstorms will keep going across eastern New Mexico overnight into early Friday morning.
A few spotty storms will redevelop Friday afternoon across eastern New Mexico, with a couple near the Texas state line capable of turning strong to severe. At the same time, breezy southwest winds will ramp back up across western New Mexico, with gusts over 35 mph creating another round of elevated fire danger. Storms will push east out of New Mexico Friday evening while winds gradually ease overnight.
Quieter and drier weather takes over this weekend. Temperatures Saturday afternoon will cool a few degrees but still stay near average for late May. Breezy afternoon winds will continue Saturday before lighter winds and warmer temperatures return Sunday.
Moisture will start building back into eastern New Mexico Monday, bringing a slight chance for thunderstorms near the Texas state line. Monday will also be the hottest day of the warming trend statewide. More moisture spreads into the eastern half of the state Tuesday, increasing storm chances along and east of the Rio Grande Valley by afternoon. Even deeper moisture arrives statewide by Wednesday and Thursday, fueling more widespread showers and thunderstorms through the middle of next week.
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