Briefly
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says YouTube ignored a number of takedown requests after his likeness was utilized in a bitcoin rip-off.
Wozniak’s warning comes amid an increase in AI-powered deepfake fraud concentrating on tech leaders.
Final week, a UK MP referred to as for YouTube advertisements to face the identical regulation as TV and radio promoting.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has accused YouTube of failing to behave towards a Bitcoin rip-off that used his likeness, warning the identical lax techniques are actually enabling a surge in world deepfake fraud.
“Some individuals mentioned they misplaced their life financial savings,” Wozniak informed CBS Information. “That’s a criminal offense. A great individual, if you happen to see a criminal offense occurring, you step in and attempt to cease it.”
Wozniak discovered he had been impersonated in rip-off advertisements a number of years earlier and remains to be preventing a 2020 case in court docket towards YouTube for its lack of motion in taking down the content material.
The Apple co-founder mentioned he found the rip-off after his spouse, Janet, obtained an e mail from a sufferer asking after they would get their a reimbursement.
The scammers had “truly taken video of Woz speaking about Bitcoin,” Janet defined. “Then they put a pleasant body round it with a Bitcoin deal with, and mentioned that if you happen to despatched him any quantity of Bitcoin, he would ship you double that again.”
“Take a look at spam, have a look at the phishing makes an attempt simply all over,” Wozniak mentioned. “And there is not sufficient actual, I do not know, muscle to battle it.”
Deepfake fraud on the rise
Wozniak’s warning comes amid an explosion in AI-generated deepfakes and rising on-line fraud. Some $9.3 billion was misplaced to on-line scams in 2024, based on reviews made to the FBI’s Web Crime Criticism Middle (IC3). The true whole is probably going far increased.
Tech leaders from Elon Musk to Jeff Bezos have seen their likenesses hijacked in related scams, whereas critics say main platforms stay gradual to behave. A scarcity of strong moderation and oversight for on-line advertisements, particularly on social media and video platforms, has allowed spammy, deceptive, and outright fraudulent content material to flourish.
Wozniak’s criticism of YouTube echoes that of UK Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson, who final week referred to as for advertisements on the platform to be regulated to the identical requirements as tv and radio within the UK.
“Laws must meet up with the truth of how individuals are watching content material,” Wilkinson mentioned, warning that “unscrupulous advertisers should not be allowed to make use of loopholes to use individuals.”
Google, which owns YouTube, informed Decrypt it eliminated over 5.1 billion advertisements and restricted one other 9.1 billion in 2024, suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts for main violations, and blocked advertisements on 1.3 billion writer pages.
The corporate mentioned it has strict advert insurance policies, invests closely in enforcement, and has hundreds of individuals working across the clock to police its platforms.
It isn’t the one tech firm that has are available for criticism of its content material moderation talents. Related claims have been leveled at Meta, X and different social media platforms.
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