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There are some messaging services that attract their respective user base because of a specific sub-cultural "need." For folks who love secure communications and a standalone desktop client that doesn't require their phone to have a data connection to receive messages, Signal's a pretty powerful app. Article continues below advertisementAnd if you're in the business of disappearing messages, although other applications now offer this feature, Snapchat's pretty much the king.Some folks use Snap for some clandestine communications so naturally, people want to know: can the photos one takes on Snapchat be used in court?Can Snapchat photos be used in court? Absolutely.Here's a word of advice: if you're planning on doing anything illegal, then don't text about it. Don't picture message about it. Don't FaceTime about it. Don't use any application that doesn't have end-to-end encryption either.While Snapchat does indeed have end-to-end encryption for the photos that are sent between its users, texts, and other types of messages sent through the platform don't enjoy the same kind of protection.Article continues below advertisementSnapchat indicates that they will comply with law enforcement when it comes to certain legal matters, which may include handing over any correspondence between two people.Let's say you're using Snapchat…

Crime and CourtsThe defendant's mother confirmed that the man who was at the motel to take the girl matched the photograph of her biological father. Written By: Brainerd Dispatch | 7:05 pm, Sep. 16, 2021 × A 23-year-old Brainerd woman — who works at PORT Group Home for Girls in Brainerd — is accused of helping a 17-year-old girl run away from the facility. Samantha Marie Kouba was charged Wednesday, Sept. 15, in Crow Wing County District Court in Brainerd for one felony count of depriving custody/parental rights, which caused a child to be a runaway; and two gross misdemeanors of contributing to the need for child protection or services and endangering a child through harm or death. According to court records, the custody of the 17-year-old girl was transferred in May 2016 from her biological parents to relatives in Beltrami County District Court. The girl was later placed in voluntary foster care through Hennepin County District Court. Although the Hennepin County Juvenile Court ordered the placement of the minor child into an out-of-home placement, the relatives maintained legal custody of the 17-year-old. Samantha Marie Kouba Kouba’s charges stem from a runaway report at 3:26 p.m. Sept. 11 from PORT…

The federal courthouse in downtown Bay City.BAY CITY, MI — A Midland woman is facing federal charges for allegedly producing child pornography at her boyfriend’s request.During an investigation into child exploitation, an FBI special agent obtained lascivious images of a female child born in 2010, the agent wrote in an affidavit contained in court files. The agent believed Megan E. Troutman had created the photos, he wrote.On Sept. 7, the agent interviewed the 30-year-old Troutman. During the interview, Troutman admitted to taking the explicit photos “for the sexual gratification of her then-boyfriend,” the agent wrote.Troutman said the child was 9 at the time she took the photos. She said her then-boyfriend asked her to send her such images on several occasions, the affidavit said.The affidavit does not say how Troutman had access to the girl.The photos depicted the child in “various stages of undress,” with her privates visible in some of them, the affidavit states. The agent showed Troutman seven such photos, one of which had Troutman’s own arm in it. Troutman said she took at least one of the photos in her Midland living room in the fall of 2019.Troutman told the agent she refused to send nude photos…

An article from You likely already know this - or at least, you probably suspected. But a new report from ToolTester has shown that Instagram is the social media platform that’s seen the most outages over the past year. The report, which utilizes info from Downdetector.com, highlights the online platforms that have experienced the most outages over the previous 12 months, with gaming-based platforms Discord and Steam leading the way. On the social media front, Instagram is out in front, with 192 total outages in the US and the UK, while Twitter (54 outages) and Snapchat (48) came second and third, respectively. Of course, most of these errors were rectified quickly, so people haven’t had to go too long without posting updates and scrolling their feeds. But it’s interesting to note the challenges at IG, which has continued to add new features like Reels, IGTV, Stories, etc. Could it be getting too overloaded, or is it just a matter of increased usage – which is a good problem to have? Check out ToolTester’s full listing of the websites with the most outages below. Follow Andrew Hutchinson on Twitter

Sam Powell was jailed for three years after a court how he threatened to post intimate images of the victim and commit acts of sexual violence against her.The 25-year-old also tried to derail a police investigation by claiming he had been "fitted up" by a phone hacker after he was arrested.Kate Bisset, prosecuting, said Powell made contact with the victim on Snapchat in August 2016 and told her he was aged 15.Sign up to our daily newsletterThe i newsletter cut through the noiseSam Powell was jailed for three years at Leeds Crown Court for stalking schoolgirl and sending Snapchat messages threatening to rape her.Ms Bisset said the conversation between them was "not out of the ordinary" at first but Powell began to make requests that made the girl uncomfortable.The defendant asked the girl for intimate pictures of herself which she agreed to send.Powell's messages then took on a more sinister tone.The prosecutor said: "The defendant would tell her that bad things would happen if she didn't send them."He said he knew where she lived and would come and get her if she didn't, whether she wanted to or not."Powell then messaged the girl asking to meet her at a hotel…

Skip to main contentSyosset, NYNorthport, NYOyster Bay, NYHalf Hollow Hills, NYPlainview, NYCommack, NYKings Park, NYHicksville, NYFarmingdale, NYDeer Park-North Babylon, NYNew YorkTop National NewsSee All Communities September 13, 2021 SACRAMENTO, CA – In an ongoing effort to engage young voters who remain largely underrepresented in California's electorate, the California Secretary of State's Office has partnered with Snapchat to launch an educational Augmented Reality Lens to remind voters to cast their ballot in the California Gubernatorial Recall Election.Find out what's happening in Huntington with free, real-time updates from Patch.On Election Day, all Californian Snapchat users can open Snapchat to use the Snapchat x California Secretary of State "Vote Safe CA" statewide lens which will link voters with additional information to vote at Vote.ca.gov. "When young people start participating in elections, it paves the way for a lifetime of civic participation," Secretary of State Shirley Weber said. "We are constantly looking for new ways to get young voters aware, engaged, and activated so they have an active say in the future we're creating here in California."Find out what's happening in Huntington with free, real-time updates from Patch.Snapchat Lenses are AR experiences that transform the way users look at the world To use the…

Snap Australia has partnered with Samsung Electronics Australia to launch an augmented reality (AR) campaign that allows Snapchat users to try on some on Samsung’s products.The campaign was created and produced by Snap, with CHE Proximity Media managing the media strategy and media buy.The campaign lets Snapchat users try on the Samsung products virtually, and then also to purchase them via an in-app ‘Shop’ button. The products in the campaign include the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, Galaxy Watch4and Galaxy Buds2 devices. Samsung Electronics Australia’s head of brand marketing, Hayley Walton, said: “We’ve already seen great traction and success working with Snapchat, particularly when targeting Australia’s hard-to-reach Gen Z and millennial audiences.“Our product innovations continue to lead the market and we know there’s a real ‘see to believe’ wow factor with our devices. Snapchat’s AR capabilities help us bring the physical try-on experience to the digital world using the power of AR. This is particularly exciting during a time when many people aren’t able to access a physical store to experience the devices in real life.”Snap Australia’s head of client partnerships, Clare Nash, commented: “AR shopping and try-on represents the future of retail here in Australia and globally. We’re delighted to…

New rulings by the Federal Election Commission protect the flexibility of major social media companies to control political content shared on their platforms.The Federal Election Commission ruled that Twitter did not break the law by blocking a New York Post article on Hunter Biden, above, during the presidential campaign last year. Credit...Kris Connor/WireImage, via Getty ImagesSept. 13, 2021When Twitter decided briefly last fall to block users from posting links to an article about Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son Hunter, it prompted a conservative outcry that Big Tech was improperly aiding Mr. Biden’s presidential campaign.“So terrible,” President Donald J. Trump said of the move to limit the visibility of a New York Post article. Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, said Twitter and Facebook were censoring “core political speech.” The Republican National Committee filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Twitter of “using its corporate resources” to benefit the Biden campaign.Now the commission, which oversees election laws, has dismissed those allegations, according to a document obtained by The New York Times, ruling in Twitter’s favor in a decision that is likely to set a precedent for future cases involving social media sites and federal campaigns.The election commission determined that…

Like other popular social media platforms, Snapchat has boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. With mobile gaming and esports on the rise, esports media companies are taking notice and producing more Snapchat-native content to reach this growing audience.In 2021, Snapchat boasts an average of 293 million daily active users and reaches 90% of all 13-24-year-olds in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia and the Netherlands, according to a Snap Inc. spokesperson. Many of these users are gamers. In addition to the 30 million monthly users who play games on the app via Snap Games, gaming content is a constant presence on Snapchat’s Discover page. The platform has launched almost 60 new gaming and esports shows on Discover this year. “Snapchat offers gaming and esports brands a powerful way to reach and engage with our valuable, mobile-native Gen-Z and millennial audience,” said Clayton Peters, head of U.S. verticals at Snap. Upcomer, an esports news site that launched in April 2021, has experienced the benefits of Snapchat’s increasing gaming audience firsthand. The company’s video department produces two Discover-native series: “Livestream Fails” and “Rage Quit,” both round-ups of amusing or noteworthy clips taken from Twitch or YouTube streams.  Following its release in May,…