Apple Co-Founder Wins Crucial Appeal in YouTube Lawsuit Over Bitcoin Scam
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has prevailed in the latest round of his legal battle against YouTube. The legal dispute was regarding deepfake videos showcasing his appearance in a Bitcoin scam in 2020.
According to Bloomberg, the San Jose appeals court overturned a lower court’s decision that had previously acquitted YouTube of any responsibility in the matter. Additionally, this ruling could potentially lead to changes in the federal law that currently protects video streaming platforms from liability for user-generated content.
Key points:
- Steve Wozniak and 17 other prominent figures filed a lawsuit against YouTube and Google in 2020.
- The lawsuit was over a Bitcoin scam involving deepfake videos.
- The appeals court ruled that YouTube cannot rely on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to avoid liability for the fraud.
- The court found that YouTube contributed to the scam by providing and failing to remove verification badges from hijacked channels.
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Wozniak and 17 others, including Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Michael Dell, filed the lawsuit in 2020 after a series of deepfake videos went viral on YouTube.
These videos, which exploited the popularity of the Apple co-founder and others, promoted a fake Bitcoin scam by adding text and pictures promising free cryptocurrency in exchange for sending Bitcoin to a specific address.
Recent YouTube ruling questions decision from 2022
A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled in 2022 that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protected YouTube and its parent company, Google, from liability.
However, the recent appeals court verdict questions this decision, asserting that the companies’ involvement in the scam may not qualify for Section 230 immunity. Also, the appeals court judges noted that popular YouTube channels are often targeted by hackers to promote scams.
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They found that Google and YouTube played a role in the fraud by providing verification badges to the hijacked channels and failing to remove these badges when the channels began posting the scam videos. The court also highlighted the awarding of a verification badge to one channel during the scam process.
