SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) – Google is arguing it is not liable for the injuries suffered by a girl who was allegedly groomed and abused by a man on Snapchat after they met on Instagram. The grooming included an exchange of pornographic photos, says a lawsuit brought May 2 in San Diego federal court brought under consumer protection and products liability laws and the Trafficking Victims Protections Act. The plaintiff, known as L.W. in court papers, sued Snap, Apple and Google. In its June 30 motion to dismiss, Google says L.W. can’t prove standing to sue it because she can’t allege her injuries were “fairly traceable” to any of Google’s conduct. The apps at issue were available for download on Google Play. “But there is no allegation that any of the third parties involved in Plaintiff’s abuse obtained the Chitter app from Google Play,” the motion says. “Accordingly, even taking the allegations in the complaint as true, there is no causal connection whatsoever between Google’s operation of Play and the use of Chitter to distribute (child sexual abuse material) depicting Plaintiff.” L.W. says from age 12 to 16, she was groomed and abused by a man named B.P. on Snapchat.…
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Google says it has no connection to sexual exploitation of young girl | Legal Newsline
