Dutch doctors threaten legal action against Snapchat after sale of illegal vapes
In de media image: Andrej Lisakov on Unsplash
Dutch doctors hold social media platform Snapchat responsible for the illegal sale of vapes, and are threatening legal action. Bart Schermer, Professor of Law and Digital Technology, spoke to RTL news: 'Snapchat is not liable for the content of its users'.
Since 1 January 20224, the sale of disposable vapes with sweet flavours has been banned in the Netherlands. Only the taste of tabacco is allowed. With this measure, the Dutch government wants to discourage young people from vaping. Yet, almost 8 percent of 12 to 18-year-olds say they vape, according to recent figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). These young people often come into contact with vapes with attractive flavours through illegal sales channels on social media, including Snapchat. For this reason, doctors from the Leiden University Medical Center, among others, have sent a letter to Snapchat through their lawyers demanding that the company takes action within 14 days to prevent the sale of illegal vapes.
Schermer says the letter sent by the doctors is a good initiative, but sees it mainly as a ‘moral appeal’: ‘From a legal perspective, the question is how far such a platform should go. Snapchat has no general monitoring obligation: they don’t have to scan all posts. Snapchat is also not liable for the content of its users, unless users are informed of this. But they do have a policy where you can report messages, after which they can moderate.' According to the professor, Snapchat does have a duty of care, though it is not proactive. 'These kinds of companies are making a lot of money and young people are getting seriously ill from vaping. So, you may have to step up when it comes to your social responsibility’.
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Read the full article on RTL nieuws (in Dutch)