Ripple Labs filed a lawsuit against Youtube LLC on April 21. The case seeks damages for Youtube’s failure to stop XRP (XRP) scammers and impersonators and to protect consumers around the world from dangerous online giveaway scams and false impersonations across YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and more.
CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse added:
Today, @Ripple and I personally are taking legal action against @YouTube because their platform is the epicenter for imposter scams, and they’ve done next to nothing in response to our constant takedown requests. (2/4) https://t.co/EexfseYdDK — Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) April 21, 2020
The lawsuit lodges complaints against Youtube for:
Violations of the Lanham Act for Trademark Infringement
Violations of California’s Statutory and Common Law Right of Publicity
Violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law
In a company statement, Ripple stated:
“Giveaway scam” is an industry term that relates to attempts to defraud money from unassuming consumers via social media impersonation, by convincing people that if they send money, they will receive more funds in return—typically through airdrop. These scams accurately impersonate individuals and companies, and are often spread through fake social media profiles.
YouTube’s inertia is indicative of an industry-wide problem of a lack of accountability. Victims are forced to jump through hoops to report these scams, and oftentimes that doesn’t even work – ex: when @Instagram told me I wasn’t being impersonated (3/4) https://t.co/ILhS0AcPb2 — Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) April 21, 2020
Ripple adds that emerging industries such as crypto and blockchain, scams and giveaways hinders the industry’s innovation and progress.
Ripple further added:
“It’s time to end this unacceptable behavior and protect our friends, family members and consumers everywhere. YouTube and other big technology and social media platforms must be held accountable for not implementing sufficient processes for fighting these scams.”
Ripple also published on a how-to guide for spotting and protecting users from online digital asset giveaway scams.
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