Snapchat, the photo-sharing app that allows users to send images and videos to friends that disappear shortly after, has filed a restraining order against a former fraternity brother of CEO Evan Spiegel, who claims to be a co-founder of the company.
The restraining order was filed Friday, and seeks to prevent Reggie Brown, a former classmate of Spiegel's, from sharing deposition videos of the Snapchat CEO that were originally leaked by Business Insider late last month. In the videos, Spiegel reportedly admits that Brown came up with the disappearing photo idea, and also says he "may deserve something for some of his contributions."
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Brown first sued Snapchat back in February, claiming he was responsible for the idea. Friday's restraining order claims the videos were "'Confidential' under the Protective Order" as part of the ongoing lawsuit.
"Snapchat will suffer great or irreparable injury if plaintiff is permitted to disclose Snapchat’s confidential information to the public," the document says. "A temporary restraining order is therefore necessary."
Snapchat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If the lawsuit sounds familiar, you may be thinking back to a similar dispute that took place in 2004 with another up-and-coming social network: Facebook.
In that situation, twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss sued Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he stole the idea for the social network. The twins walked away with $20 million in cash plus 1.2 million total shares — not a bad payday — but still a far cry from where Zuckerberg now sits as the largest shareholder in the $100 billion company.
With Snapchat, Brown has a lot to lose if he is indeed shut out of the company. Facebook reportedly offered to buy Snapchat for $4 billion last month, which the company turned down.
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