News 
Coin Information 
About us 
Ripple Labs and CEO Brad Garlinghouse are suing YouTube.
Ripple’s complaint against YouTube centers around the “XRP Giveaway” scams that rely on hijacked accounts and fool victims into believing that they will receive more XRP if they send some of it away. A similar approach using other cryptocurrencies also exist on other social media platforms including Twitter.
Garlinghouse shared his thoughts about the issue in a series of posts on Twitter. The Ripple Lab CEO felt that it’s time to speak up and for outlets like YouTube to take accountability.
“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,” Garlinghouse wrote.
“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,” he added.
Across the industry, social media companies have failed to police their platforms from being abused by the entirely preventable imposter giveaway scams. Hundreds of people (including some of you) have been hurt, yet big tech continues to drag their feet. (1/4)
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) April 21, 2020
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
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
In times like these, when consumers already feel vulnerable, it’s more important than ever to protect people from these rampant scams. (4/4)
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) April 21, 2020
Garlinghouse cited an example when he reported an impersonator on Instagram. However, his petition was rejected because for Instagram, it didn’t violate its Community Guidelines.
Ripple also announced its legal action on its website because its foundation is built on “trust and transparency,” so it wants its fans to be aware of its move. It also prompts YouTube to make an “industry-wide change and set the expectation of accountability.”
“This lawsuit calls on the video platform to do a number of things. First, to be more aggressive and proactive in identifying these scams, before they’re posted. Second, faster removal of these scams once they are identified and lastly, to not profit from these scams,” Ripple wrote.
Ripple also announced that it hired external cybersecurity and digital threat intelligence vendor to help them by reporting and taking down those scams and impersonations. Also, it will be building its own submission form for the community to report unusual activity.
Ripple noted that whenever a scam, giveaway or fake conspiracy is taken down, more pop up immediately. Thus, big technologies and media companies need to take responsibility and should be held accountable for their consumers’ protection.
"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,” it added.
In related news, earlier this month, a popular YouTube channel was hacked and it live-streamed ask-me-anything (AMA) with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. The hacking incident led to a 7.2 BTC lost, which amounts to $51,200.
Comment 1