Snapchat's Take on its Settlement with Maryland

On Thursday we reported that Snapchat had reached an agreement with Maryland to pay $100,000 to the state and change some of its practices that violated laws over deceptive marketing and children's privacy. The deal looks fairly straightforward but has some legal kinks that are worth expanding on and that Snapchat emphasized in their own statement on the matter.

Snapchat, although making all the changes and paying the money as described in the Maryland Attorney General's statement, is not actually admitting any fault or liability in the matter. That may seem a very technical point to quibble on but it matters a lot legally. It's a way for Maryland to get Snapchat to change (and pay) without any legal repercussions for Snapchat. It also matters to the company because it emphasizes that its not that Snapchat itself was taking and saving the data, just that customers might have been misinformed or misunderstood how the app works. That fits with the earlier agreement Snapchat made with the FTC too.

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