Social media chat tool Snap is being sued for allegedly causing a car crash that killed three teenagers by promoting reckless driving via a feature of its Snapchat social media app.
One of the teenage passengers took a Snapchat video with a filter that tracks how fast the user is driving just before their car drove off a Wisconsin road at 113 mph, crashed into a tree, and burst into flames in May 2017. Driver Jason Davis, 17, and his friends Hunter Morby, 17, and Landen Brown, 20, of Walworth County, Wisconsin, had previously achieved speeds of up to 123 mph.
U.S. Circuit Judge Kim McClane Wardlaw recounted the young men's last moments in her 18-page opinion.
"They sped along at these high speeds for several minutes, before they eventually ran off the road at approximately 113 mph and crashed into a tree," Judge McClane wrote. "Tragically, their car burst into flames, and all three boys died."
The parents of the two passengers filed a lawsuit against Snapchat parent company Snap Inc., alleging that the speed filter encourages users to drive at dangerous speeds. According to their lawsuit, which was filed in the Central District of California, the "Speed Filter" overlays users' "snaps" with their speed, and some users believe they can gain in-app achievements for traveling over 100 mph.
Snapchat, for its part, does not specify how users win awards. However, the parents claim that the company is obligated to delete or limit access to the app when an individual is traveling at high speeds.
However, U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald dismissed the case, ruling that Snap is protected from liability under the Communications Decency Act (CDA). He ruled that the parents had failed to establish "a causal connection between defendant's Speed Filter and the car accident."
Fitzgerald denied further leave to amend after dismissing the parents' amended complaint on similar grounds, and entered a final judgment in February 2020.
The Ninth Circuit revived the parents' lawsuit on Tuesday, ruling that their revised complaint did not aim to keep Snap accountable as a publisher, which is covered by the CDA. Instead, the parents' claims center on Snap's role as Snapchat's designer, suggesting that the parents could sue Snap Inc. as the maker of a negligently designed product.
Snap has not made a statement as of writing. The law firm of Bondurant Mixson & Elmore, which represents the parents, said they are ready to move forward with the case.
