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The Apple co-founder filed a complaint in court stating that YouTube had been actively using his image to procure profits through ads displayed over a possibly fake Bitcoin giveaway.
In a twisted turn of events, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak embroiled in a lawsuit against video giant YouTube has lost the court battle over a fake Bitcoin giveaway and has been granted 30 days to review his preliminary filed complaint.
The lawsuit revolved around Wozniak’s prominent image being used by YouTube to support claims to promote a Bitcoin giveaway as reported by various sources.
Steve Wozniak and YouTube Bitcoin Giveaway
According to the reports presented by Bloomberg, Wozniak has filed a lawsuit against YouTube highlighting that the video giant had been selling targeted ads using Wozniak’s image that proposed his involvement in an alleged Bitcoin giveaway that materially contributed towards Youtube earnings via navigating significant online traffic towards these ads. Apart from this, the suit also propagated how YouTube made use of Wozniak’s image to boost their videos by using him as a prime benefactor in hosting these videos and later securing substantial earnings via these ads.
The videos hosted by youtube had Wozniak being a part of a bitcoin giveaway where people would be making online contributions of their personally owned bitcoins to a predetermined wallet and secure double the amount later in their accounts. The entire process turned out to be a hoax and YouTube was called out by Wozniak for potentially harming his image and making false statements using his name and status.
Apart from Wozniak, several other celebrities like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have also been targeted with similar scams and fraudulent activities.
The Awaited Outcome
The Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kulkarnia has denied such claims made on YouTube by Wozniak and has granted him 30 days to revise his claim. In a developing turn of events, the judge has also proclaimed how the argument made by Wozniak significantly lacks evidence to overcome section 230 and has been given a fixed tenure of 30 days to gather evidence that supports his lawsuit.
On the other hand, Wozniak is currently in the process to be sued over in another judicial turmoil propagating his involvement in a copyright infringement where he allowed one of his fans to use the title of Woz U for a personal education project.
The latest decision of the judge came at a day when Google had officially announced the changes in advertising services for crypto-related projects by making necessary updates in their earlier 2018 policy regarding crypto earnings via ads.