Models suing Snapchat behind sexualized Google search results

Two sisters, Sarah and Elizabeth Turner are currently suing Evan Spiegel, the co-founder of the popular photo messaging app Snapchat. They’re claiming that when you perform a Google search for the term “Snapchat sluts” (definitely not safe for work) their pictures come up in the results. The sisters are also claiming that in 2011 Spiegel approached them in hopes of using their likeness to promote a new mobile application that he was developing called “Picaboo.”

The Turners claim that they took photos that showed them playing on the beach as marketing material for the app. The girls say this was a free favor to the Stanford student to help promote his software, however they’re claiming that the pictures were modified to make it look as if Elizabeth was pulling off Sarah’s bathing suit top. The sisters state that other images were edited to give the impression of them being nude on the beach as well.

Picaboo later evolved into Snapchat and the pictures of the girls has become synonymous with the brand. The Turners claim that Snapchat is worth $10 billion, and are saying that the app has tainted their public image, due to the software’s reputation of being a prominent sexting application. This isn’t Snapchat’s first encounter with legal issues, the firm recently settled a lawsuit with a co-founder Reggie Brown, who claimed he didn’t receive proper compensation for his contributions to the company’s early development.

(via TMZ)