Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and 17 other victims have sued Youtube and Google for allowing, promoting, and profiting from bitcoin giveaway scams. However, Youtube insists that it is not at fault for scammers using its video-sharing platform for cryptocurrency giveaway scams and other fraudulent schemes.
Steve Wozniak and 17 Victims Take Youtube and Google to Court Over Bitcoin Giveaway Scam
Steve Wozniak and 17 other fraud victims have sued Youtube and its parent company, Google, over a bitcoin giveaway scam that has persisted on the popular video-sharing platform for many months. According to Tuesday’s filing with the Superior Court of the State of California in San Mateo County, the plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial.
Wozniak says Youtube and Google have allowed scammers to use his name and likeness to promote a fraudulent bitcoin giveaway for months, adding that the two companies have repeatedly ignored his requests to remove the scam videos. Twitter, on the other hand, took down similar bitcoin giveaway tweets the same day they were posted during the great hack that saw many high-profile accounts asking people to send them bitcoin, promising to double any amount sent.
According to the court filing:
Defendants [Youtube and Google] significantly harmed Wozniak and Youtube users by knowingly allowing the bitcoin giveaway scam to thrive, promoting the scam, profiting from the scam, and failing to warn users.
The plaintiffs say that Google and Youtube “knew about the bitcoin giveaway scam because Wozniak, countless other scam victims, Youtube users, and media articles” informed them about “every aspect of the
