A group of YouTubers has added Snap, the company behind Snapchat, to an ongoing legal fight about AI and copyright. The creators claim that Snap used their YouTube videos without permission to train its AI systems.
According to the lawsuit, Snap allegedly used these videos to help develop AI features such as Imagine Lens, a Snapchat tool that lets users create and edit images using text prompts.
This case is part of a growing wave of lawsuits against tech companies accused of using copyrighted content to train AI models without consent.
What the YouTubers Are Claiming
The creators say Snap included their videos in large video-and-language datasets, including HD-VILA-100M. These datasets were meant only for academic and research use, not for commercial products.
The lawsuit claims Snap bypassed YouTube’s technical protections, broke YouTube’s terms of service, and ignored licensing rules that clearly ban commercial use. In short, the creators argue their content was taken and used to build AI tools without permission or payment.
Who Filed the Lawsuit
The lawsuit is led by the creators behind the h3h3 YouTube channel, which has over 5.5 million subscribers. They are joined by smaller creators, including MrShortGame Golf and Golfholics, both known for golf-related content.
Together, the creators represent more than 6.2 million subscribers.
The case was filed last Friday as a proposed class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The creators are asking for financial damages and a permanent court order to stop Snap from using their content for AI training.
Part of a Bigger Legal Trend
Snap is not the first company to face lawsuits like this. Other major tech firms, including Meta, Nvidia, and ByteDance, have also been sued over AI training practices.
According to the Copyright Alliance, more than 70 copyright-related lawsuits have now been filed against AI companies. These cases involve writers, artists, publishers, news organisations, and online creators.
Some lawsuits have had mixed outcomes. A judge recently ruled in favour of Meta in a case brought by authors. Meanwhile, Anthropic has settled with authors by paying compensation. Many other cases are still ongoing, showing how unclear and complex the legal rules around AI remain.
The Takeaway
This lawsuit highlights a growing concern among creators: AI companies may be using online content in ways creators never agreed to. As AI tools like Snapchat’s Imagine Lens become more powerful, disputes over who owns content — and how it can be used — are likely to increase.
For creators, the case is a warning that their work could be reused without consent, but also a chance to defend their rights. For tech companies, it sends a clear message that using copyrighted content without proper permission can lead to serious legal and reputational trouble.
As AI continues to grow, how courts handle cases like this could shape the future of content ownership and AI development.