[Digital Today AI Reporter] A storm chaser group that films extreme weather filed a class action lawsuit, saying Meta failed to properly manage repeated copyright infringement on Facebook and Instagram.

On Jan. 19 (local time), online media outlet Gigazine reported that the plaintiffs filed suit in a federal court in Texas. They said they submitted hundreds of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown requests to Meta, but Meta ignored them or handled them improperly.

The storm chasers said their storm and tornado video content filmed and posted on X, YouTube and Facebook was often copied without permission. They said the harm was particularly severe on Facebook.

Meta provides Rights Manager on Facebook and Instagram so rights holders can protect and manage content, but in some accounts there were cases in which rights holders could not properly use the feature.

The complaint also cited internal documents saying Meta penalizes repeat infringement only for highly profitable accounts and does not respond immediately to general accounts. The plaintiffs said this lack of response shows the possibility of deliberate disregard, and said damages could reach millions of dollars.

The class action lawsuit shows that social media companies' policies and implementation can lead to legal liability, highlighting limits and problems in how platforms respond to copyright infringement.