YouTuber LegalEagle is suing PayPal over ‘sleeping leech’ honey extension.
A new lawsuit claims that the PayPal-owned Honey browser extension scams content creators out of money.
honey, Which was acquired by PayPal for $4 billion in 2019works by automatically presenting relevant coupon codes to users while shopping. However, in Video posted last monthYouTube user MegaLag described Honey as a “scam” aimed at “stealing money from influencers.”
Among other accusations, MegaLag said that if a YouTuber or other creator promotes a product through an affiliate link, if a viewer installs Honey, the extension will surreptitiously replace its link when the viewer makes a purchase — even if Honey doesn’t offer any Discounts. This means that Honey, not the creator, receives the affiliate revenue for the transaction.
Now Devin Stone, based in Washington, DC lawyer Who posts videos on his famous website LegalEagle YouTube Channelhe has File a lawsuit against PayPalclaiming that the company “systematically diverts commissions from their rightful owners, thus undermining the affiliate marketing system.”
“Adding to the irony, PayPal recruits content creators and influencers to promote the Honey browser extension to their audiences, effectively enabling it to usurp the commissions and other benefits that these same creators rely on for income,” Stone said in his lawsuit.
TechCrunch has reached out to PayPal for comment. Company A statement was shared with The Verge Saying that it disputes these claims and will defend itself “vigorously,” it adds that “Honey follows industry rules and practices, including last-click attribution” (an ad attribution system where the final point of contact takes all the credit for a purchase).
Of course, stone too I posted a video About the lawsuit, which also underscored Haney’s marketing efforts, in which content creators promoted the browser extension to their audiences — and once those audiences installed it, Stone said it was a “sleeping leech” in their browsers, “waiting for the viewer to act in response.”
“Therefore, forever thereafter, the value of a creator’s future sponsorships, relationships, and advertising after the creator’s audience is infected,” he said.
Stone added that he is seeking class action status for the lawsuit Looking for other creatives to join.
