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| Snapchat removes speed filters after car crash |
The creator of the Snapchat app has removed a feature called Speed Filter that allows users to capture their movement speed and share it with friends.
The move was a huge reversal for Snap, which introduced the feature in 2013.
Snap has since defended the feature in the face of warnings from safety advocates who believe it encourages reckless driving.
The company has also faced lawsuits from families of people who were injured or killed in a car accident where the driver was driving too fast for allegedly bragging about Snapchat.
The filter shows your current speed in miles or kilometers per hour. Some reviewers claim that this feature encourages reckless driving. Some people say that if the speed filter is linked to a fatal car accident, the rogue should be to blame.
Speed filter critics welcomed the news and expressed skepticism about the delay, including co-founder of the nonprofit End Distracted Driving, one of the organizations that has called for Snapchat to remove the speed filter.
"Nothing is more important than the safety of our Snapchat community," Snap said. We previously deactivated the filter for speed driving. Snapchat users hardly use it. For this reason, we will completely remove it.
The company said it will start removing the feature this week. However, it can take several weeks for the app to disappear from the app, leaving it with 500 million monthly active users.
Snapchat removes the speed filter:
There have been several lawsuits between Snapchat and car accidents over the years. One is linked to a car accident in Georgia in 2015, just a few years after Snapchat first updated it with filters.
In the years since, the company has turned the filter into a label, which reduced its visibility, hid it in a separate list, and made it difficult to use.
The company also added a caveat: Don't take pictures while you're driving, they'll appear every time someone uses the feature.
The company has also set the speed limit at which messages can be shared at 35 miles per hour.
The Ninth District Court of Appeals recently ruled that Rogge can be sued for speeding charges against candidates involved in a car accident.
The court found that the company was not protected by Section 230, the part of the Communications Regulation Act that protects the company from litigation caused by content users post on the platform.
The case relates to another incident in Georgia that killed three men in 2017. The Ninth Court said the families of these men could sue Snape after the case was initially closed in 2020.