News Chmura v Snap AI DMCA 2026
YouTuber Nicole Chmura filed a class action lawsuit against Snap Inc. on February 18, 2026, alleging the company circumvented YouTube's technological protection measures to mass-download copyrighted video content for training Snapchat's AI systems, in violation of the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions (17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)).[1]
The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Case No. 2:26-cv-01732) before Judge Andre Birotte Jr., alleges that Snap used circumvention tools and services to defeat YouTube's streaming-only restrictions at scale, scraped video content systematically, and trained its AI models on the unlawfully obtained material without creator permission.[1]
The suit is part of a growing wave of DMCA anti-circumvention lawsuits filed in early 2026 against AI companies, including similar actions against Runway AI, OpenAI, and others. It expands AI copyright litigation beyond text-based training data into video content scraping.[1]
As of late April 2026, no rulings on motions to dismiss have been reported.