Snap faces lawsuit from YouTubers over alleged AI training practices

New Delhi: A collective of YouTube creators has broadened its legal action over the use of online video content in artificial intelligence development, naming Snap as an additional defendant in a proposed class action filed in the US, according to news reports.

The lawsuit, submitted on Friday to the US District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Snap used copyrighted YouTube videos without authorisation to train its AI models. The filing claims the content was used in connection with features including Imagine Lens, which enables users to alter images through text-based instructions.

The plaintiffs claim Snap relied on large-scale datasets including HD-VILA-100M, which they say were designed for academic research rather than commercial deployment. The lawsuit alleges that YouTube’s technical safeguards, terms of service and licensing restrictions were circumvented, enabling the use of videos in ways not authorised by creators.

The legal action is being led by the creators behind the h3h3 YouTube channel, which has more than 5.5 million subscribers, along with smaller channels MrShortGame Golf and Golfholics. Combined, the channels represent an audience of around 6.2 million subscribers.

The creators are seeking statutory damages and a permanent injunction that would prevent Snap from continuing the alleged copyright infringement. Such an order, if granted, could limit how certain AI tools are trained or deployed by the company.

The lawsuit adds to a growing number of disputes between content creators and technology firms over the use of copyrighted material in AI development. The nonprofit Copyright Alliance has said that more than 70 copyright-related cases linked to AI training have been filed to date, spanning sectors such as publishing, visual art, news media and user-generated video platforms. Courts have delivered mixed outcomes so far, with some cases dismissed, others settled, and many still under review.