Snapchat introduces new feature to curb drug dealing

The parent company of snapchat stated that it has been taking measures to combat drug trafficking on the app. It is also making it more difficult for the users to locate accounts of minors under the age of 17. 

According to Snapchat, the app would no longer show the accounts of 13 to 17-year-olds in Quick Add unless they have “a particular amount of accounts in common.” While the move will not prohibit adults and teenagers from communicating, it may make it more difficult for strangers to locate teens they are unfamiliar with. 

“To further protect 13 to 17-year-olds, we recently introduced a new safety to Quick Add, our friend suggestion function. Users under the age of 18 will require a set number of friends in common with someone else in order to be discoverable in Quick Add by someone else further assuring it is a friend they know in real life,” says part of the official release.

According to company, it has been collaborating with law enforcement agencies to enhance its response time to law enforcement requests, as well as improving its own AI to detect such content. 

Snapchat was linked to the sale of fentanyl-laced tablets that killed teens and young adults in over a dozen states, according to news agency. Following the news, Snap, the service’s parent company, claimed it has upgraded its automated systems for detecting illicit narcotics, employed additional staff to handle law enforcement requests, and created an awareness portal focusing on the hazards of fentanyl and counterfeit pills. 

Those updates have yet to be released, though the company hopes to do so “in the next months.”