Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has sued YouTube and its parent company Google for publishing fraudulent content on the platform using his name.
Wozniak is one of 18 plaintiffs who are trying to receive a compensation and force YouTube to remove videos related to the fraudulent distribution of Bitcoins.
The plaintiffs claim that Twitter acted "swiftly and decisively" in last week's attack, which helped "protect its users from the scam." They claim:
"In stark contrast, for months now, Defendant YOUTUBE has been unapologetically hosting, promoting, and directly profiting from similar scams."
Ripple has recently filed a similar lawsuit against YouTube claiming fraudulent giveaways of the XRP crypto, usually under the name of company CEO Brad Garlinghouse, are harming its reputation.
The latest lawsuit states that YouTube "featured a steady stream of scam videos and promotions that falsely use images and videos of Plaintiff Steve Wozniak, and other famous tech entrepreneurs, and that have defrauded YouTube users out of millions of dollars."
According to the lawsuit, these videos also feature Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Michael Dell in addition to Wozniak. The lawsuit includes screenshots showing how Wozniak's images and videos are allegedly used to give away Bitcoins. Users are "convinced" to send cryptocurrencies to a specific address for a limited period of time in order to "receive twice as much back."
Wozniak claims both YouTube and Google are violating the right to publicly use its image, promote fraud and fail to take steps to protect its users from it. The plaintiffs are demanding a jury at trial and the confiscation of all profits made by the defendants illegally.
YouTube lawyers have recently asked a court to dismiss charges that the company should be held liable for failing to prevent crypto scammers from carrying out their activities on the platform.
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