Co-founder of Apple Inc. Steve Wozniak lost a lawsuit against YouTube for distributing fraudulent videos. According to a California judge, YouTube and its parent company Google LLC are protected by federal law, which protects Internet platforms from liability for content posted by users.
In a lawsuit against YouTube, Steve Wozniak argued that the video hosting service did not remove the fraudulent bitcoin video depicting the co-founder of Apple, damaging the expert’s reputation.
“Section 230 of the Communication Integrity Act should not apply because YouTube not only failed to remove fraudulent videos, but also“ contributed significantly ”to the fraud by selling targeted ads, driving traffic to videos, and falsely checking YouTube channels on who posted the videos, ”Wozniak said in his lawsuit.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Justice Sunil R. Kulkarnia said these factors were not enough to overcome the Article 230 immunity. The judge gave Wozniak 30 days to appeal the decision.
The scam videos featured Wozniak as the organizer of the prize draw, promising that anyone who sends bitcoins will receive double the payout. According to the suit, the scheme also used the names and images of other celebrities, including the co-founder of Microsoft Corp. Bill Gates and CEO of Tesla Inc. Ilona Mask.
Fake YouTube videos harm the reputation of crypto projects
Note that several large crypto projects have filed a lawsuit on YouTube for distributing fake videos that negatively affect the reputation of companies and specific individuals. However, YouTube representatives in every possible way deny their guilt in this matter. In a public statement, YouTube officials say they have not violated Section 230 of the federal distribution law. According to the stated information, YouTube was not supposed to control the content of videos posted by scammers regarding the launch of the Ripple Labs.Inc blockchain.
The Cardano project has also become a victim of YouTube scams. The criminals launched a series of videos that talked about the free distribution of tokens. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson wrote about this on his Twitter page. According to him, scammers compromised Hoskinson’s speech at a conference where he asks users to subscribe to the project’s new YouTube channel. Cybercriminals reworked the recording and distributed it on the Internet. On it, Hoskinson allegedly says that the company is ready to issue free ADA tokens for subscribing to the channel.
Note that in early spring, YouTube settled a lawsuit against Ripple, in which the fintech company and its head Brad Garlinghouse accused the video hosting site of insufficient work to block fraudulent content.
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