Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube For Fake Bitcoin Giveaway Ads

News and Analysis
23.07.2020

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has joined the class action lawsuit against online video-sharing platform YouTube and its parent company Google. The lawsuit revolves around fraudulent videos promoting distribution of Bitcoins (BTC) on behalf of tech celebrities including Wozniak himself, industry-focused media outlet CoinDesk reported on July 22.

18 plaintiffs now demand YouTube delete the videos from the platform and compensate them for the damage caused. The lawsuit claims that the scammers’ actions have already resulted in millions of dollars worth of damages to the platform’s users.

The plaintiffs noted that YouTube has not been taking any action against cybercriminals for several months. Moreover, the streaming service provider has allegedly promoted such materials.

The lawsuit opposed YouTube’s inaction to Twitter’s response to the recent hack, where it reacted quickly and managed to save a large part of users’ funds.

Apart from using Wozniak’s name, the attackers also misappropriated the identities of Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Michael Dell. The lawsuit is substantiated by screenshots of fraudulent ads from live broadcasts.

Previously, a similar lawsuit against YouTube was filed by blockchain company Ripple over the fraudulent distribution of the XRP cryptocurrency. The ads also used the image of Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO, to promote the scam.

In response, YouTube lawyers said that the platform was not responsible for the materials posted by third parties.

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