YouTube claims that it is not liable for crypto scams

YouTube’s legal team has come out to argue that the video-sharing platform is not accountable for crypto scams conducted as part of its video content or descriptions. A report unveiled this news on July 22, noting that the lawyers made this argument in an ongoing lawsuit filed by Brad Garlinghouse’s attorneys in April.

Reportedly, Garlinghouse’s attorneys filed this lawsuit in response to YouTube’s failure to stop XRP fraudsters and impersonators. Ripple argued that YouTube profits from the actions of the scammers in the form of paid advertisements. However, in a July 21 update on Law360, YouTube’s lawyers filed for dismissal, noting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects platform publishers against liability over information that third-parties provide applied to the case.

According to YouTube’s lawyers, the platform’s unwitting verification of scam channels does not change the fact that third parties were behind the creation of fraudulent content. They went on to state that the platform has no liability considering Ripple did not claim the platform solicited, encouraged, or participated in third-party fraudsters’ scam.

A scam impersonating Ripple’s CEO

Ripple’s lawsuit highlights 305 instances of channels that impersonated the firm’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse. Some scammers went as far as taking over unrelated but verified channels. They then customized the layout and content to create the impression of a real crypto giveaway from a verified account.

In the update, YouTube’s legal team said,

“The right of publicity law protects individuals’ names, images or voices from being used for commercial purposes without permission, but Ripple’s suit alleges that a third-party hacker employed Garlinghouse’s identity in its videos, not YouTube.”

Ripple is not the only victim

This news comes as crypto scammers continue devising ingenious means to con unaware crypto holders. Apart from Ripple’s CEO, fraudsters have in the past impersonated several prominent figures in sectors such as technology and finance. For instance, a June 9 report revealed that scammers impersonated Elon Musk’s SpaceX YouTube channel. This attack saw the hackers get away with at least £118,530.