The video platform alleges that it is not liable for scammers that use its platform and has actively worked to remove XRP scams that are brought to its attention
Youtube, the video platform giant owned by Google, has filed a motion in the US federal court to have the lawsuit filed by Ripple and CEO Brad Garlinghouse dismissed.
Garlinghouse sued the platform in April of this year for not properly monitoring giveaway scams posted on the video sharing site. The payment startup alleges that Youtube is not doing enough to limit the number of XRP scammers on the platform, claiming that the scams have damaged Ripple’s reputation.
The co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak, has announced that he is also suing Youtube and Google for allowing scammers to use his name in their Bitcoin scams. Wozniak and 17 other plaintiffs allege that while the platform is aware of these scams, no action was taken to remove the videos from the network.
Youtube, in response, argues that it is not liable for scammers that use the network and put forward Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act.
Section 230 grants immunity from liability for the providers and users of an “interactive computer service” who publish information that is provided by third party users. This means that Youtube’s legal defence is that it cannot be held accountable as the publisher of content posted by Youtube users and as a result, the platform is not liable.
The platform added that it did not actively participate in the XRP scams and emphasises that it even went as far as to remove fraudulent videos that were brought to their attention.
The lawsuit filed by Ripple claims that the number of XRP scammers that have posted videos on Youtube have managed to lure victims into giving “millions of XRP valued at several thousands of dollars” into unreliable investments.
The scams were deployed by convincing users into sending cryptocurrency with the promise that they would have more crypto returned to them over time. These giveaway scams have become fairly common in the crypto industry and have tricked thousands of individuals.
Beyond Youtube, platforms such as Twitter and Medium are also facing the challenge of regulating cryptocurrency scammers. Twitter is currently working on managing a plethora of bot profiles that lure users to believe in the scam. Recently, the platform made news over a massive hack where several high-profile accounts were successfully hijacked and used to promulgate a crypto scheme.
The Court Listener has revealed that Youtube’s motion is set to continue on August 27.