A Detroit man who was charged for allegedly sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in a West Bloomfield park in August is also accused of sexually exploiting multiple children, according to court records.

A Monroe County man was arrested for allegedly sexually exploiting numerous children online.

Snapchat has failed to act on rampant reports of child grooming, sextortion and other dangers to minors on its platform.

Fentanyl overdoses have become a leading cause of death for minors in the last 5 years or so — and social media, where tainted, fake prescription drugs can be obtained with just a few clicks, is part of the problem.

Police said she repeatedly told the man she was 14, but that did not stop the threats from coming.

New Mexico’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the company behind Snapchat.

Federal investigators said the ages of the boys he solicited were the same age as those he used to coach.

Snapchat Inc. will pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by California’s civil rights agency.

Spain’s government has proposed a law to protect children from online threats that includes virtual restraining orders for felons and a higher age for opening social media accounts.

While a bill to ban TikTok if it doesn't change owners has received President Joe Biden's signature, it could still be years before the popular video-sharing app is actually blocked from U.S. app stores — if it is blocked at all.

Two tribal nations are accusing social media companies of contributing to high rates of suicides that disproportionately affect Native American youth.

Four of the largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario have launched lawsuits against TikTok, Meta and SnapChat alleging the social media platforms are disrupting student learning.

A federal judge has extended his block on enforcement of an Ohio law that would require children under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps while a legal challenge proceeds.

Nevada’s attorney general has launched a go-it-alone legal fight accusing TikTok, Snapchat and Meta of creating what one lawsuit calls “an addiction machine” that exploits children too young to have self-control.

A federal judge has temporarily halted enforcement of an Ohio law that would require children under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps.

A trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies has sued Ohio over a pending law that requires children to get parental consent to use social media apps.

A study from Harvard says social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year.

Teen usage of social media hasn’t dropped much, despite rising concerns about its effects on the mental health of adolescents.

Children in Georgia would need their parents' permission to create social media accounts if some top Republicans in the state get their way next year.

Social media companies are once again under scrutiny, this time in France as the country’s president blames TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms for helping fuel widespread riots over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver.

I’m very much aware that I have no control over the decisions social media apps and organizations make, but it would have been nice to know that a strange little AI bot was going to show up as a Snapchat friend.

A Detroit man is accused of hacking into an 18-year-old woman’s Snapchat account to steal nude images and threatening to post them online if she didn’t pay money or send more pictures.

Officials with Plymouth-Canton Community Schools said no weapon was found at a middle school after several students reported seeing a Snapchat picture showing a gun.

Ohio’s governor wants to require parental consent for kids under 16 to get new accounts on TikTok, Snapchat and other social media and gaming platforms.

Like the tobacco, oil, gun, opioid and vaping industries before them, the big U.S. social media companies are now facing lawsuits brought by public entities that seek to hold them accountable for a huge societal problem in the mental health crisis among youth.

The public school district in Seattle is suing the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat, seeking to hold them accountable for the mental health crisis among youth.

An Inkster man received dozens of nude images and videos from a 10-year-old girl and other children after offering to send them video game currency, officials said.

As the U.S. deals with its deadliest overdose crisis to date, a national crime-prevention group is calling on the Justice Department to clamp down on social media’s role in the spread of fentanyl, the drug largely driving a troubling spike in overdose deaths among teenagers.

A 36-year-old Pontiac man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of a minor.

A Royal Oak man who lured a 14-year-old to his home over Snapchat, left another teenage girl in a Detroit parking lot after raping her, and had a runaway hiding naked under his bed has been sentenced to federal prison.

A Clinton Township man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after coercing several minors into sending him sexually explicit photos.

A grieving Birmingham family says enough is enough, as they’ve joined a lawsuit seeking damages from the social media site Snapchat over the death of their son.

A Russian court has fined TikTok for failing to delete LGBT material in what is the country’s latest crackdown on Big Tech companies.

On Sunday morning Oxford High School’s school resource officer became aware of a threatening Snapchat, ‘come bring a gun to Oxford school.’

The parent company of social media platform Snapchat said Wednesday that it is letting go of 20% of its staff as it reorganizes and tries to reduce costs in the face of declining sales.

A criminal complaint broke down how a Garden City man used games of “truth or dare” over Snapchat to receive nude images of young girls and then blackmail them with those images to force them to perform sex acts on themselves, siblings, and pets.

A Garden City man will stay behind bars for allegedly producing child pornography, police say.

Officials say that a 19-year-old man is in custody and charged for allegedly using the “Truth or Dare” game to trick children into sending nude photos and videos through Snapchat.

As concerns about social media’s harmful effects on teens continue to rise, platforms from Snapchat to TikTok to Instagram are bolting on new features designed to make their services safer and more age appropriate.

Social media has had a rough 2022 with lingering questions about advertising spending and a $44 billion takeover of Twitter that may or may not be happening, depending on which Elon Musk tweet you read.

A teenager was lured to an area in Monroe Township over the weekend where two men beat him while a girl recorded the attack and posted it on social media, according to police.

A man is facing charges after police found him in a van with a 14-year-old girl who talked to him on Snapchat and ran away from her home in Oakland County to meet him for the first time.

A man is facing charges after police found him in a van with a 14-year-old girl who talked to him on Snapchat and ran away from her home in Oakland County to meet him for the first time.

A Lincoln Park man is facing charges after he exchanged several graphic, sexually explicit Snapchat messages, photos, and videos with a 15-year-old girl, according to officials.

A parent caught everyone in attendance off guard when she used a racial slur and profanity in her public comments during a Grosse Pointe board meeting.

A parent caught everyone in attendance off guard when she used a racial slur and profanity in her public comments during a Grosse Pointe board meeting.

A South Lyon High School student has been charged for a Snapchat threat in which he said it was “time for Columbine part 2,” according to authorities.

Four schools within the Chippewa Valley Schools district have been placed on a temporary external lockdown after a Snapchat threat was discovered, officials said.

A 16-year-old boy admitted he made a threat that Armada schools could be “next” for an attack because he wanted a day off from school, and now he might face charges, according to authorities.

With a click of a mouse or a swipe of a screen you can connect with businesses, family and old friends all over the world -- but with Facebook now under fire, it has people looking at social media differently.

Senators have put executives of YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat on the defensive.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat … it can be tough to keep all the social media channels straight.

A man who was released on bond in a Livonia case last year was caught coercing minors for pictures on Snapchat, officials said.

A Roseville man is accused of using sexual conversations on Snapchat to lure 14-year-old girls to his home and rape them, according to police.

A significant struggle among parents raising teenagers is not knowing what they’re doing on social media, or how they’re doing it.

FILE - This April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. Twitter is launching tweets that disappear in 24 hours called Fleets globally, echoing social media sites like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram that already have disappearing posts. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)Shares of social media and other tech companies slid Monday, hit by fallout from the siege on the U.S. Capitol by supporter of President Donald Trump. Trump supporters have argued that the actions of the technology companies is a violation of free speech and Trump has long tried to repeal Section 230. Though Trump's tenure ends in nine days, power in the Senate has flipped to the Democrats who have long begrudged the oversized influence of social media.

Twitter is launching tweets that disappear in 24 hours called “Fleets” globally, echoing social media sites like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram that already have disappearing posts. Twitter tested the feature in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea, before rolling it out globally. Fleets are a “lower pressure” way to communicate “fleeting thoughts” as opposed to permanent tweets, Twitter executives Joshua Harris, design director, and Sam Haveson, product manager, said in a blog post. The news comes the same day Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced questions from a Senate Judiciary Committee about how they handled disinformation surrounding the presidential election. Such features are increasingly popular with social media users looking for smaller groups and and more private chats.

ALLEN PARK, Mich. – A 35-year-old man is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct after Allen Park police said he met a 12-year-old girl on Snapchat. Allen Park police investigated when the girl’s parents reported her missing on Aug. 19. Hodges, who is HIV positive, is charged with four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct along with another count involving someone under 13. It began when the girl was chatting on the app with Hodges, who she thought was 19 years old. The relationship started to come out when the girl’s parents reported her missing.

Here’s what’s coming up on Local 4 News at 11:Man charged with sexually abusing 12-year-old girl he met on SnapchatAllen Park police began investigating the relationship between the man and the girl in August.

DETROIT - A Detroit police captain has filed a lawsuit claiming racial discrimination after being demoted over a controversial Snapchat video. Gary Sroka claims he and another white officer were unfairly punished while a black command member was not disciplined. The video in question uploaded by former Officer Gary Steele shows a black woman walking home after having her car was towed with the caption "Black girl magic." Steele was fired in February. Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

A Detroit police captain has filed a lawsuit claiming racial discrimination after being demoted over a controversial Snapchat video. Gary Sroka claims he and another white officer were unfairly... Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

An 11-year-old South Carolina boy drove his brother's car 200 miles to meet a man he met on Snapchat. (CNN) - An 11-year-old boy drove 200 miles across South Carolina to meet a stranger he knew only on Snapchat, the Charleston Police Department said. The child drove from the northwest town of Simpsonville to Charleston. He told the officer early Monday morning he had taken his brother's car to go to Charleston where he wanted to live with "an unknown male he met on Snapchat," police said. Police have launched an investigation into the unknown male, Charleston spokesman Charles Francis told CNN affiliate WCSC.

For National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is underway now through mid-October, the chain restaurant El Pollo Loco -- which has locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Utah and Louisiana -- is using augmented reality to bring back some of Los Angeles lost murals, as theyre called. (We are) working with our communities to ensure the legacy of our city's great murals endures through digitally restoring lost murals and donating our storefronts as permanent canvases.So what does that mean, exactly? The website provides a list of where exactly these murals are located in L.A. The campaign is expected to last throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, which ends Oct. 15. [READ NEXT: 5 Instant Pot dishes to make for Hispanic Heritage Month | 10 Spanish-speaking TV shows you should be streaming on Netflix | How did Hispanic Heritage Month come to be? ]

An 11-year-old drove himself more than 200 miles to meet a man hed been talking to on Snapchat. He told the officer hed been driving for three hours already but got lost when the GPS app on his dad's tablet stopped working. Police then contacted the boys father, who was in the middle of reporting the boy missing to police. Authorities said they werent able to identify the man the boy was supposed to be meeting because the Snapchat messages had already disappeared, but they kept the tablet to investigate further. RELATED STORIESVirginia Teen With Carnival Cruise Snapchat Handle Gets His Dream VacationCarnival Cruise Line Offers Boy a Free Cruise in Exchange for His Snapchat NameMale Student Pretends to Be Teen Girl Using Snapchat Filter and Nabs Cop Allegedly Seeking Sex

In the message, McKinney allegedly told him not to come to school. The two suspects are accused of carrying out a mass shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch near Denver in May, killing Kendrick Ray Castillo, 18, and wounding eight others. Following the shooting, Erickson told investigators that McKinney made him do it and tasked him with guarding an exit and telling everyone not to move. Erickson took the two handguns used in the shooting from his parents, according to a law enforcement source. The two students used the middle school entrance because they knew they would be able to get the guns into the school, the affidavit states.

For National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is underway now through mid-October, the chain restaurant El Pollo Loco -- which has locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Utah and Louisiana -- is using augmented reality to bring back some of Los Angeles lost murals, as theyre called. (We are) working with our communities to ensure the legacy of our city's great murals endures through digitally restoring lost murals and donating our storefronts as permanent canvases.So what does that mean, exactly? The website provides a list of where exactly these murals are located in L.A. The campaign is expected to last throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, which ends Oct. 15. [READ NEXT: 5 Instant Pot dishes to make for Hispanic Heritage Month | 10 Spanish-speaking TV shows you should be streaming on Netflix | How did Hispanic Heritage Month come to be? ]

Carl Court/Getty ImagesCHARLESTON, S.C. - Police in South Carolina say an 11-year-old boy took his brother's car and drove alone for three hours to meet someone he met on Snapchat. Charleston Police spokesman Charles Francis says the boy pulled up to an officer around 12:30 a.m. Monday and said he was lost. Francis says the boy told the officer he was heading to Charleston from 200 miles (320 kilometers) away in Simpsonville to live with a man he met on Snapchat. But the tablet computer lost the GPS signal and the man's address and he couldn't get it back because the Snapchat message had disappeared. Francis says the tablet computer is being analyzed as the investigation continues.

DETROIT - Here's what is coming up on Local 4 News at 4:Impeachment movementThere is growing pressure to start impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Snapchat controversyA Detroit police officer will not face charges after an investigation into his alleged insults toward a woman in a Shapchat video. Women's conferenceThe Great Lakes Women's Business council has been meeting for two days in Novi. IHOP HalloweenIHOP is offering a Halloween menu based on the classic Addams Family show. Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

MELVINDALE, Mich. - An arrest has been made after a shooting threat against schools in the Melvindale-Northern Allen Park district canceled classes three days this week. The threat against a high school and middle school in the district was made on Snapchat. The Melvindale Police Department didn't provide further details about the arrest or the threat. Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - A Bloomfield Hills High School student allegedly made a threatening Snapchat post, according to BHHS officials. School officials and the Bloomfield Township Police identified the student and investigated the alleged threat Thursday night. The student will remain out of school and off school district property until the investigation is over, according to school officials. Student safety includes the physical and emotional safety of students. Additional resources regarding school safety and security can be found by visiting www.bloomfield.org/safety."

(CNN) - Snap isn't giving up on its smart sunglasses.On Tuesday, the Snapchat parent company announced Spectacles 3, the latest version of its video-recording sunglasses now with new 3D effects and an eye-popping price tag. In a video teased on social media, Snapchat teased the new special effects users can add to their "Snaps" with Spectacles. Snap said Spectacles 3 is a limited-edition product, and it will produce less of the new sunglasses than it has in the past. Google is now focusing on offering augmented reality glasses for businesses and Apple is rumored to be developing AR glasses. "The high price and clunky user interface will make most Snapchat users simply look the other way," she said.

ROYAL Oak, Mich. - Local 4 has obtained Snapchat video of a man threatening police, fire and emergency medical services in Royal Oak. He thought the video and his threats would disappear, but police found the video and him. Im about to blow, Im about to shoot at the police yall, I am about to shoot at them. Roll the window down, roll the window down! the man can be heard saying in the Snapchat video. Snapchat videos disappear but were told Royal Oak police investigators took months tracking the video down, and identifying Gissental as the man flashing the gun that is not registered to him.

OLATHE, Kan. - A Michigan man allegedly blackmailed a Kansas teen to get the child to send him sexually explicit videos on Snapchat. Martez Hurst, 22, is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of blackmail after he used the social media app to coerce the victim. According to the Kansas City Star, court documents say Hurst told police he tried to commit similar crimes against about 20 other females. Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Snapchat added 13 million daily users in the three months ending in June, ending a long period of lackluster growth and pushing the company's total audience above 200 million daily users for the first time. It's now just short of its initial public offering price. The social media company has been working to right the ship for most of the two years since its initial public offering. In the quarter ending in June, it appears to have moved in that direction. Revenue hit $388 million, up 48% from a year earlier and well above analysts' projections of $360 million.