Snapchat slapped with lawsuit over 'sexually offensive content'

LOS ANGELES, California -- Snapchat, a highly popular social network, was hit with a class-action lawsuit over sexual content.

Famed attorney Mark Geregos filed the suit in Federal Court on Thursday. It claimed the popular messaging app exposes minors to "harmful, offensive, prurient and sexually offensive content."

The lawsuit was initiated by a woman and her 14-year-old son after he came across several Disney characters that included "pornographic text and innuendo next to the photographs."

The suit takes particular issue with Snapchat Discover- which is a section in the app where Snapchat teams with media partners for content.

The complaint claims this content offers "profoundly sexual and offensive material to children."

"You think it's harmless activity. You think you vetted it, and then all of a sudden you've got this Trojan horse of pornography and other things. It's disturbing," said Geregos.

A Snapchat spokesperson issued a statement in response to the allegations saying their media partners are independent in the content they post.

"We haven't been served with a complaint in this lawsuit, but we are sorry if people were offended. Our Discover partners have editorial independence, which is something we support," the statement read.

Geregos, however, said Snapchat was breaking the Communications Decency Act and other laws that require them to alert their users about content harmful to minors.

Geragos said the lawsuit could cost Snapchat hundreds of millions, if not a billion, dollars.