Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#1

Post by lostandbored » Wed, May 05, 2021, 2:48 AM UTC

Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules
npr.org

Re: Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#2

Post by halfdan » Wed, May 05, 2021, 8:43 AM UTC

Of course they should be allowed to sue. Whether the suit makes sense or will be dismissed outright is up for a judge to decide.

It's a stupid feature, but I can't see how Snapchat is to blame for the actions of a passenger. Is the feature designed to show off how fast you're traveling, sure. It wasn't the person in the driver seat trying to record though.

Re: Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#3

Post by redis_mlc » Wed, May 05, 2021, 8:56 AM UTC

Well, if you make a speed filter for your app, this is a forseeable result.

Where it gets murky is for hookup apps like Tindr and Grindr - dating is chock full of risks, so they're a potential lawsuit magnet.

Re: Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#4

Post by spacemanmatt » Wed, May 05, 2021, 10:33 AM UTC

halfdan wrote: post #2

Of course they should be allowed to sue. Whether the suit makes sense or will be dismissed outright is up for a judge to decide. It's a stupid feature, but I can't see how Snapchat is to blame for the actions of a passenger. Is the feature designed to show off how fast you're traveling, sure. It wasn't the person in the driver seat trying to record though.

Counterpoint: I can't see how a speedometer overlay is anything except an attractive nuisance.

Re: Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#5

Post by sneak » Wed, May 05, 2021, 10:38 AM UTC

spacemanmatt wrote: post #4

halfdan wrote: post #2

Of course they should be allowed to sue. Whether the suit makes sense or will be dismissed outright is up for a judge to decide. It's a stupid feature, but I can't see how Snapchat is to blame for the actions of a passenger. Is the feature designed to show off how fast you're traveling, sure. It wasn't the person in the driver seat trying to record though.

Counterpoint: I can't see how a speedometer overlay is anything except an attractive nuisance.

Would you say the same thing for a GoPro?

Re: Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#6

Post by okamiueru » Wed, May 05, 2021, 12:36 PM UTC

spacemanmatt wrote: post #4

halfdan wrote: post #2

Of course they should be allowed to sue. Whether the suit makes sense or will be dismissed outright is up for a judge to decide. It's a stupid feature, but I can't see how Snapchat is to blame for the actions of a passenger. Is the feature designed to show off how fast you're traveling, sure. It wasn't the person in the driver seat trying to record though.

Counterpoint: I can't see how a speedometer overlay is anything except an attractive nuisance.

Shouldn't the counterpoint be how the driver somehow is no longer responsible for the vehicle? Which, is why it would be absurd for Snapchat to be accountable? To me, this seems no different than the driver claiming they aren't fault because "someone dared me to".

Re: Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#7

Post by colejohnson66 » Wed, May 05, 2021, 12:40 PM UTC

spacemanmatt wrote: post #4

halfdan wrote: post #2

Of course they should be allowed to sue. Whether the suit makes sense or will be dismissed outright is up for a judge to decide. It's a stupid feature, but I can't see how Snapchat is to blame for the actions of a passenger. Is the feature designed to show off how fast you're traveling, sure. It wasn't the person in the driver seat trying to record though.

Counterpoint: I can't see how a speedometer overlay is anything except an attractive nuisance.

Doesn’t that just describe the majority of Snapchat filters?

Re: Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#8

Post by seg_lol » Wed, May 05, 2021, 1:39 PM UTC

halfdan wrote: post #2

Of course they should be allowed to sue. Whether the suit makes sense or will be dismissed outright is up for a judge to decide. It's a stupid feature, but I can't see how Snapchat is to blame for the actions of a passenger. Is the feature designed to show off how fast you're traveling, sure. It wasn't the person in the driver seat trying to record though.

Something about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law

It seems similar to "Send Me to Heaven" [1] the app for gamifying the destruction of phones.

[1] https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-bans-app-that-wants-you-to-t...

Re: Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#9

Post by JCharante » Wed, May 05, 2021, 2:23 PM UTC

seg_lol wrote: post #8

halfdan wrote: post #2

Of course they should be allowed to sue. Whether the suit makes sense or will be dismissed outright is up for a judge to decide. It's a stupid feature, but I can't see how Snapchat is to blame for the actions of a passenger. Is the feature designed to show off how fast you're traveling, sure. It wasn't the person in the driver seat trying to record though.

Something about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law It seems similar to "Send Me to Heaven" [1] the app for gamifying the destruction of phones. [1] https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-bans-app-that-wants-you-to-t...

Oh thank you for sharing that, it reminded me of my first android app from when I was 15. It used the accelerometer to see populate a leaderboard of how hard you could chuck your phone.

Re: Snapchat Can Be Sued for Role in Fatal Car Crash, Court Rules

#10

Post by LatteLazy » Wed, May 05, 2021, 3:16 PM UTC

The only way this makes sense is the concept of attractive nuisance. That's a very poor case imho, but let's assume we had to make it. The real attractive nuisance here isn't snap, it's that someone made a car that can do 153mph, and some kids parents bought it for him. Not Snapchat letting you film it with filters.