Standing in front of Snap's Santa Monica offices, parents clutched onto photos of their children who died from taking fentanyl-laced pills facilitated through the disappearing messaging app Snapchat.

They rolled white paint onto the ground, spelling out the names of 108 children who died from alleged social media harms.

"Snapchat: Protect kids not predators," a banner read.

Yellow signs with images of dead children accused the company of being an "accomplice" to "murder," videos and photos of the demonstration showed.

More than 40 parents attended Thursday's protest, an event organized by Heat Initiative, an advocacy group that focuses on holding tech companies accountable for failing to protect kids online.

"For years, families have watched their children die from fentanyl poisoning and sexual exploitation facilitated by Snapchat's design—and for years, Snapchat has fought to avoid any meaningful accountability," said Sarah Gardner, chief executive of Heat Initiative, in a statement.

The demonstration highlighted the mounting pressure social media companies such as Snap continue to face as a landmark trial in Los Angeles over whether tech companies such as Instagram and YouTube can be held liable for allegedly promoting a harmful product and addicting users to their platforms continues in Los Angeles.

TikTok and Snap, the parent company of disappearing-messaging app Snapchat, settled for undisclosed sums to avoid the trial.

Parents who allege the Santa Monica company is responsible for drug sales facilitated through the app have also sued Snap. Parents who attended this week's protest urged the company to do more to safeguard young people from predators and called for Snap to disable its AI chatbot.

Social media companies have faced allegations for years that their platforms are designed to be addictive and make it easy for predators and drug dealers to target and harm young people. Parents who have lost their children have also pushed for more legislation, including in California, to make social media platforms safer.

The rise of artificial intelligence chatbots, which are also incorporated within apps such as Snapchat and Instagram, have also raised more safety concerns because young people who have died by suicide have spilled some of their darkest thoughts online.

Snap said in a statement that the company has invested in online safety, including efforts to combat illegal drug sales on its platform. The company pointed to the technology it uses to detect illegal drug content, its work with law enforcement and education initiatives. This week, Snap was among the companies that agreed to get evaluated on their child safety efforts.

"Snap unequivocally condemns the criminal conduct of the drug dealers whose actions led to these tragedies. Addressing the fentanyl crisis demands a united front, bringing together law enforcement, government officials, medical professionals, parents, educators, tech companies, and advocacy organizations," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

Amy Neville, an Orange County mom who lost her 14-year-old son Alexander Neville from fentanyl poisoning after he obtained drugs through Snapchat, said in a statement that parents have testified before Congress, held rallies and brought the deaths to Snap's doorsteps for years.

"We are painting our children's names in the street and bringing this memorial to his doorstep because Evan Spiegel won't acknowledge what his platform has taken from us," she said in a statement.

Spiegel is the chief executive and co-founder of Snap.

On Friday, parents also gathered at the Gloria Molina Grand Park in Los Angeles to honor children who they say died because of social media harms. They unveiled the "Lost Screen Memorial," displaying large smartphones with the images of 50 dead children.

"Their faces serve as a constant reminder of what has been lost. The responsibility to keep children safe online should not lie with parents alone," the website for the memorial said.

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