Ripple is suing YouTube over its failure to disable scam accounts impersonating its CEO Brad Garlinghouse and offering XRP cryptocurrency give-aways.
In a complaint filed with the US district court in Norther California, Ripple says the scam has caused "irreparable harm" to its public image, brand, and reputation as a "direct consequence of YouTube’s deliberate and inexplicable failure to address a pervasive and injurious fraud occurring on its platform".
The XRP Giveaway promotions have involved hacked YouTube accounts promising free XRP in return for a small initial payment. A single instance of the Scam reportedly resulted in $15,000 of stolen XRP. Ripple alleges that victims have been defrauded out of millions of XRP valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ripple says it has submitted 350 complaints about bad actors operating on YouTube's platform. But it says that YouTube has repeatedly ignored its complaints and even awarded verification badges to some hacked accounts.
Ripple is seeking to take the high ground in the action, calling out social media companies for failing to police their sites and disseminate fake news and scams.