Dutch doctors take on Snapchat over illegal vape sales

Doctors from the Leiden University Medical Center, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, and the Youth Smoking Prevention Foundation are taking legal action against Snapchat over the sale of illegal vapes on the platform. Despite repeated requests to prevent this, illegal vapes are still widely accessible on the social media platform, which is mainly aimed at children and young people, the doctors told RTL Nieuws.

In June, Snapchat was summoned to take measures to better protect children from the illegal trade in vapes, cigarettes, and snus on the platform. After discussions between Dutch doctors and a Snapchat representative, the platform promised short-term improvements.

To monitor this, the doctors asked 11 kids that they know to search for vapes on Snapchat before and after the promised improvements. “And nothing appears to have changed,” pulmonary pathologist Danielle Cohen of the Leiden University Medical Center told RTL. Before the improvements, the young people found 607 dealers using 16 different search terms. After Snapchat’s measures, they found 615 dealers using the same terms. “And those aren’t difficult searches,” Cohen said.

“We found accounts like ‘cigarette dealer,’ ‘vape sales,’ or ‘butt seller Ameland.’ If we can find that with some teenagers on summer vacation, surely Snapchat, with its billion-dollar revenue, can too? They’re simply not doing enough,” Cohen said.

The doctors have, therefore, filed an official enforcement request with the Dutch regulator, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). According to them, Snapchat violates the Digital Services Act (DSA), which stipulates that companies must prevent the sale of illegal products on their platforms and protect minors from unsafe content.

The ACM is examining the doctors’ request. “The protection of minors is one of the spearheads of our supervision,” the regulator told RTL. “Given the health risks to young people, this has our full attention. We will review the enforcement request and are also contacting the European Commission.”

Snapchat told the broadcaster that it is not violating the DSA and is disappointed that the Dutch doctors took this step. “We have made significant investments to stop malicious actors from abusing our platform and to educate Snapchatters,” the company said. “Unfortunately, no single security feature or policy can eliminate every threat, online or in the world around us. That’s why we are constantly adapting our strategy as malicious actors change their tactics.”