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YouTuber Legal Eagle Sues Over PayPal’s Honey Extension
Devin Stone, the creator behind the popular YouTube channel Legal Eagle, has announced a lawsuit against PayPal over its Honey browser extension. According to the complaint filed on December 29th in California’s Northern District Court, PayPal is allegedly engaging in unfair practices by replacing creators’ affiliate links with their own.
As described by fellow YouTuber MegaLag last month, PayPal’s Honey extension works by offering coupon codes and pop-ups at checkout. However, it replaces existing affiliate cookies with its own, even if it didn’t find a relevant coupon. This alleged practice is seen as deceptive and clandestine by Stone, who claims that PayPal is using industry standard practices to swindle creators out of their rightful earnings.
The lawsuit aims to seek damages from PayPal and prohibit the company from swapping its own affiliate attribution at checkout in the future. The complaint also accuses Honey of interfering between creators and their business partners, a clear violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law.
The controversy surrounding PayPal’s Honey extension has sparked outrage among many YouTubers who rely on affiliate marketing for income. Legal Eagle is seeking to represent anyone who has been affected by these alleged practices, and has set up a website inviting other creators to join the lawsuit.
In response to the allegations, PayPal VP of corporate communications Josh Criscoe claimed that Honey’s actions are in line with “industry rules and practices,” citing the use of last-click attribution. However, Legal Eagle argues that such a practice is not only deceitful but also unfair, as it prioritizes its own interests over those of creators.
The lawsuit has sparked concern among many in the tech community about the ethics and transparency of affiliate marketing.
Source: www.theverge.com
