YouTube Urges Court To Quash Cryptocurrency Scam Lawsuit, Citing Social Media Immunity

What Happened

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The San Francisco-based startup and Garlinghouse had sued YouTube in April, complaining that the platform didn’t stop scammers from posting videos related to a cryptocurrency giveaway scam that used the Ripple CEO’s likeness.” data-reactid=”21″>The San Francisco-based startup and Garlinghouse had sued YouTube in April, complaining that the platform didn’t stop scammers from posting videos related to a cryptocurrency giveaway scam that used the Ripple CEO’s likeness.

YouTube is citing Section 230 of the U.S. Communication Decency Act, which gives social media platforms immunity against content posted by third parties, the Block noted.

The Alphabet subsidiary, in its motion to dismiss, said it didn’t “orchestrate or participate in that scam, and after being notified about fraudulent content posted by the hijacked accounts, YouTube removed it.”

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="President Donald Trump had&nbsp;signed an executive order in May,&nbsp;targetting&nbsp;social media networking, with regards to content posted on the platforms, after entering into a spat with Twitter over the moderation of his tweets.” data-reactid=”24″>President Donald Trump had signed an executive order in May, targetting social media networking, with regards to content posted on the platforms, after entering into a spat with Twitter over the moderation of his tweets.

Why It Matters

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)&nbsp;co-founder Steve Wozniak, along with 17 others, also sued the Alphabet run streaming website for similar reasons&nbsp;on Wednesday.” data-reactid=”26″>Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) co-founder Steve Wozniak, along with 17 others, also sued the Alphabet run streaming website for similar reasons on Wednesday.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The lawsuit claimed&nbsp;Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s likeness had&nbsp;also been used by cryptocurrency scammers to defraud YouTube’s audience.” data-reactid=”27″>The lawsuit claimed Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s likeness had also been used by cryptocurrency scammers to defraud YouTube’s audience.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Musk, Gates, and other high-profile users were also targetted in a similar cryptocurrency giveaway scam on&nbsp;Twitter Inc’s (NYSE: TWTR) platform last week, except this time, their personal verified profiles were hijacked.” data-reactid=”28″>Musk, Gates, and other high-profile users were also targetted in a similar cryptocurrency giveaway scam on Twitter Inc’s (NYSE: TWTR) platform last week, except this time, their personal verified profiles were hijacked.

Price Action 

Alphabet Inc Class A shares traded 0.25% higher at $1,520 iand Class C shares traded 0.3% higher at $1,520.36 in the after-hours session Thursday.

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<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.” data-reactid=”36″>© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.