Ethan Klein and other YouTubers sue Apple over alleged AI training using their videos

Three well-known YouTube creators have sued Apple, alleging the company unlawfully used their videos to train its artificial intelligence models. The complaint, filed in a California federal court on April 3, claims Apple breached the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by scraping millions of YouTube videos without authorisation. The plaintiffs argue that Apple sidestepped the platform’s safeguards to collect copyrighted material on a massive scale for commercial AI development.

Apple hit with class action lawsuit by YouTube creators

The lawsuit was filed by the owners of major channels, including Ethan Klein’s H3 Podcast and h3h3Productions, along with MrShortGame Golf and Golfholics.

According to the complaint, Apple relied on datasets compiled from YouTube videos to build its generative AI systems, including a text-to-video model cited in its own research publications. The filing alleges that Apple used automated tools, rotating IP addresses, and specialized software capable of extracting complete video files to avoid detection while downloading content.

The creators claim Apple gathered vast quantities of their work and converted it into AI training data without permission or compensation. They point to Apple research papers referencing datasets made up of millions of YouTube videos as supporting evidence.

Central to the case is YouTube’s system of technical protections, which allow streaming but are designed to prevent direct downloads and large-scale scraping. The plaintiffs contend Apple “intentionally circumvented” these measures, calling the alleged conduct an “unconscionable attack” on creators whose content helped fuel generative AI advancements without payment.

Filed as a class action, the lawsuit seeks to represent other YouTube creators whose content may have been similarly used. The plaintiffs are pursuing damages and a court order to stop Apple from continuing to use the material. They also argue that Apple’s actions deprived creators of potential licensing opportunities and weakened their control over how their content is used.

This is not the first time Apple has faced such accusations. In 2024, the company was similarly accused of using videos from creators such as MKBHD, MrBeast, and PewDiePie without consent for AI training purposes.

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