Charles Hoskinson threatens to sue YouTube and Twitter over fake crypto giveaways

CEO of Cardano-backed IOHK, Charles Hoskinson, has threatened to file a class-action lawsuit against YouTube and Twitter over cryptocurrency fraud on the platforms.

Blue Checkmark and Scams in the Cryptocurrency Space https://t.co/3HxqsuVi6B

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) March 16, 2021

Hoskinson accused social networks of inaction during fake Bitcoin giveaways impersonating celebrities. He promised to investigate whether platforms can profit from ongoing fraud cases.

According to IOHK chief, victims repeatedly contacted the company or him personally with requests for compensation. Hoskinson said he had received photos of his pets, his house, and parents accompanied by threats.

“Perhaps my decision will be to simply leave all social networks at first. And then we can broadcast through our official accounts that [other] profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube are simply fake,” Hoskinson said.

In July 2020, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak joined a class-action suit against YouTube. According to the filing, users lost millions of dollars due to fake giveaways.

The plaintiffs sought the removal of videos and compensation for damages. They accused YouTube of inaction for several months and even promoting fraudulent material.

The offenders also acted in the name of Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Michael Dell. The suit is supported by screenshots from live streams in which users were urged to send Bitcoin in exchange for double the amount.

Earlier, Ripple filed a similar lawsuit against YouTube. The cause was fraudulent XRP token giveaways, in which CEO Brad Garlinghouse often appeared. According to Xrplorer’s research, the organizers stole 1.543 million XRP (~$726,000 at the time of writing).

In response, the video platform’s lawyers said that YouTube is not responsible for content posted by third parties.

In August, a fake Bitcoin giveaway appeared on YouTube from a popular tech blogger John Prosser. In November, scammers promoted crypto scam on Twitter in Musk’s name under Trump’s post.

As Chainalysis analysts noted that in 2020 the share of crime-related cryptocurrency transactions fell to $10 billion.

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