Snapchat Class Action Stays in California Federal Court

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A Snapchat class action lawsuit will remain in a California federal court, where a motion to send the case to arbitration awaits a judge’s decision.

U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson denied a motion by plaintiffs Jose Luis Martinez and Malcolm Neal to send their Snapchat class action lawsuit back to California state court.

The plaintiffs filed their claim in May 2016, claiming that the way Snapchat collects facial recognition data from its users violates Illinois privacy law.

Snapchat removed the case to federal court the next July, arguing that court has jurisdiction under the federal Class Action Fairness Act.

Judge Wilson rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that Snapchat is required to establish standing in order to remove the case from state court to federal court. The judge noted that in federal court, it’s common for cases to be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction after being properly removed from state court.

While remand can be proper if the federal court lacks jurisdiction, the judge noted, the plaintiffs did not allege a lack of jurisdiction in their motion for remand.

The plaintiffs also filed two motions regarding the timing of a hearing on Snapchat’s pending motion to compel arbitration. Judge Wilson said his denial of remand rendered those two motions moot.

Martinez and Neal’s Snapchat class action lawsuit is the second of two similar actions that challenge how the social media company uses the biometric data it collects from users’ photographs.

The plaintiffs allege Snapchat collects data about its users unique and immutable physical traits without properly notifying them about the collection or prompting the users to consent to it.

The plaintiffs specifically take issue with Snapchat’s Lenses feature. Lenses allows users to decorate their photos with additions like cartoon facial features or other special effects.

The feature uses facial recognition technology that Snapchat acquired when it purchases Looksery Inc. in September 2015.

In their Snapchat class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that Lenses takes measurements of the photographic subject’s unique facial features and stores that data without the subject’s knowledge or consent. They say that action violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Under BIPA, private entities that seek to collect persons’ biometric data must first get their authorization to do so, in the form of a written release.

The entity is also required to give the person notice of the collection, the purpose for which the data is being collected, and the length of time the data will be stored.

Martinez and Neal both allege they use Snapchat’s Lenses feature on either a daily or weekly basis. They say they have never consented to letting Snapchat collect and store their biometric data.

Martinez and Neal’s attorneys are Tina Wolfson of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC, Katrina Carroll and Kyle A. Shamberg of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC, and Ryan F. Stephan and Jorge Gamboa of Stephan Zouras LLP.

The Snapchat Biometric Privacy Rights Class Action Lawsuit is Jose Luis Martinez, et al. v. Snapchat Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-05182, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.