Google has initiated legal action to shield Bard AI and other small businesses from fraudsters seeking to exploit artificial intelligence to abuse copyright law for financial gain.

Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google’s general counsel, in a release on Monday, November 13, stressed the company’s commitment to ensuring online safety. She said, “Lawsuits, as indicated by Prado, are a formidable weapon in the fight against online scammers. They establish legal precedents and disrupt the tools used by malevolent actors, underscoring the severe consequences awaiting those who engage in such activities.”

With the growing fascination surrounding generative AI tools, unscrupulous actors have seized the opportunity to exploit users. The initial lawsuit targets these bad actors who deceived individuals worldwide into downloading malware by purportedly offering Google’s freely available generative AI tool, Bard. However, victims downloaded malware instead of gaining access to the AI tool, which compromised their social media accounts. Google has already taken action by filing approximately 300 takedown requests related to this group of scammers since April.

The legal action seeks an injunction to prevent these scammers from creating domains that enable them to deceive more users. Successful implementation of this measure would serve as a deterrent and establish a clear protocol for preventing similar scams in the future.

The second lawsuit focuses on individuals who have abused the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by employing fraudulent copyright takedown notices to undermine their competitors. The DMCA was enacted to safeguard Internet users and copyright holders while fostering innovation. It enables creators to protect their online content while ensuring the freedom of individuals and businesses to share information. Google has established a takedown process to address legitimate complaints of copyright infringement in compliance with the DMCA.

The lawsuit targets individuals who created multiple Google accounts to submit thousands of deceptive copyright claims against their competitors. These illegitimate claims led to the removal of over 100,000 business websites, causing substantial financial losses and wasting thousands of work hours.

Google aims to put an end to this unethical practice and raise awareness about the damage fraudulent copyright takedowns inflict on small businesses.