“Steve Wozniak Initiates Legal Action Against YouTube and Google’s Parent Company Over Manipulated Videos Promoting Bitcoin Scam”

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has secured a significant victory in his ongoing legal battle against YouTube concerning the unauthorized use of manipulated videos featuring his likeness in a Bitcoin scam back in 2020. The recent ruling by a San Jose appeals court overturned a previous judgment that had cleared YouTube of any accountability.

According to Bloomberg, the appeals court decision determined that YouTube cannot shield itself from responsibility using a contentious communications statute, particularly in a case involving fraud exploiting Wozniak’s popularity through manipulated videos. This latest ruling allows Wozniak to pursue his lawsuit against the video streaming platform and potentially opens the door for reform of federal laws safeguarding video streaming platforms like YouTube from liability associated with content posted on their platforms.

Also, read- Why Is Crypto ETF The Answer To Volatility And Scams In 2024?

In 2020, Wozniak, along with 17 others including Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Michael Dell, filed a lawsuit against YouTube and its parent company, Google, following the circulation of doctored videos promoting a fraudulent Bitcoin scheme on the platform. These videos, altered to include enticing promises of free Bitcoin, prompted viewers to send cryptocurrency to a specified address with the false promise of doubling their investment.

The recent appeals court ruling marks a significant victory for Wozniak and his co-plaintiffs, particularly after a 2022 judgment by a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge shielded the companies from liability under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The appeals court judges noted instances where popular YouTube channels were compromised to promote scams, holding Google and YouTube accountable for materially contributing to the fraudulent activity by providing verification badges to compromised channels.

Furthermore, the court observed that YouTube failed to revoke these verification badges even after the channels began disseminating scam videos, with one channel even being awarded a verification badge during the scam’s execution. This failure to act effectively undermines the companies’ immunity under Section 230, as they actively contributed to the scam through their verification processes.

Joe Cotchett, Wozniak’s attorney, emphasized the significance of the verdict in holding social media platforms like Google and YouTube accountable for their actions and preventing them from using Section 230 as a blanket defense for their conduct.