On March 18, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a lawsuit to the Federal Court proceedings against Facebook-owner Meta Platforms, Inc.
According to the consumer watchdog, Facebook was involved in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by distributing scam ads featuring several Australian corporate figures, television presenters, and politicians.
Dodgy advertisements involved crypto scams that were purported to be endorsed by Australian public figures, including former NSW Premier Mike Baird, television host David Koch, and businessman Dick Smith.
Facebook has become a hotbed for scams.
The largest social platform with about 2.9 billion monthly active users has turned into a spot for frauds, false advertising, and fabricated news during the last several years. Although it professes to monitor what’s uploaded, too many scams fail to get noticed at an increasingly alarming rate.
Rod Sims, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said that they see Meta as being liable for the advertisements featuring Aussie personalities published on its platform.
Sims remarked that not only the reputation of public figures falsely involved in these scam ads was damaged but also users who believed the scams risked losing money. It was so disgraceful that recently a client lost more than A$650,000 ($480,000) due to these frauds.
He added the company was aware of the celebrity-endorsed fraudulent cryptocurrency advertisements but did not take adequate efforts to address the situation. The frauds had been reported to Meta, but the corporation had failed to act on the information.
Meta employs technology and algorithms to target certain people with these advertisements, i.e., those most likely to respond to them and click on the dodgy links. It could have done more to identify and then get rid of fake or misleading advertisements on its platform in order to save its users from becoming victims of unscrupulous fraudsters.
Not the first time for Facebook-owner Meta
According to Bloomberg, a Meta spokesperson in Sydney said that the firm did not want scammy or deceptive ads on Facebook since they “violate our policies and are not good for our community.” The remarks have come a bit too late, particularly for people who have already lost money as a result of these scams.
It’s worth noting that previously, lawsuits have been filed against Facebook for permitting fraudulent advertising on its platform. Earlier this year, a California class-action lawsuit alleged that Meta collaborated with fraudsters by deploying deceptive ads and stealing confidential personal information from its users.
Last month, Andrew Forrest, the chairman of the Australian iron ore company Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX), launched criminal proceedings against Meta, alleging that the social platform breached anti-money laundering laws and distributed fraud ads, including ones that used his picture to lure victims.