LOS ANGELES—A judge has made a key ruling in a civil case that dozens of grieving parents are pressing against social media platform Snapchat.
As a result of the ruling, Snap Inc., Snapchat’s parent company, can withhold the communications of Snapchat users—including people who allegedly sold illicit drugs to children who then died or suffered serious harm.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff delivered the ruling after a hearing that lasted several hours on Aug. 25.
Matthew Bergman, a lawyer for many of the plaintiffs, told The Epoch Times that his clients allege that Snapchat is a “defective product” that enabled illicit drug sales to youths who then died from fentanyl-containing substances. Snap Inc., which strongly denies the allegations, won its motion for an order blocking the plaintiffs’ lawyers from obtaining certain communications between Snapchat users….