Google initiates legal action against scammers targeting Bard AI chatbot
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Mountain View: Alphabet's Google has taken legal action against five unidentified scammers for deceiving users seeking access to Google's artificial intelligence chatbot, Bard, by luring them into downloading malware.
In a lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California, Google accused these scammers of creating deceptive social media profiles that encouraged individuals to download a counterfeit version of Bard. Upon downloading this file, malicious software infiltrated users' devices, granting scammers access to their social media accounts, reported Bloomberg.
This lawsuit marks a significant move by a major tech entity and underscores the emerging legal challenges associated with the surge in the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies worldwide.
Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google's general counsel, highlighted the opportunistic nature of scammers exploiting the rising interest in new generative AI tools, stating, "As public excitement in new generative AI tools has increased, scammers are increasingly taking advantage of unsuspecting users."
Despite not having identified the culprits, Google proceeded to sue these individuals using various Facebook profiles masquerading as Google AI-related accounts, including "Google AI," "AIGoogle," "AiGoogle," "AIGoogle.Plus," "AIGoogle Bard FB," and "AIGoogleBard." This legal tactic allows for amendments to the complaint by adding defendants' names once discovered through the discovery process.
The lawsuit encompasses claims of trademark infringement, emphasising the scammers' exploitation of Google's logo for their deceptive tactics, along with a breach of contract.
In addition to the Bard AI-related lawsuit, Google filed another legal action against fraudsters accused of manipulating the copyright system.
According to Google, these individuals orchestrated fraudulent copyright claims by establishing multiple Google accounts, and submitting thousands of false infringement notices against their competitors. The lawsuit contends that two individuals created at least 65 Google accounts and lodged fraudulent copyright infringement claims against over 117,000 websites.
DeLaine Prado affirmed that these legal initiatives aim to establish crucial legal precedents in burgeoning fields of innovation.
She emphasised the importance of setting clear regulations against fraudulent activities, scams, and harassment in innovative domains, stating, "Clear rules against frauds, scams, and harassment are important, no matter how novel the setting."
