Reuters, 18 March – The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a case against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms (FB.O), on Friday, alleging that the social media giant failed to prevent scammers from using its platform to promote fake celebrity ads.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the advertisements encouraging cryptocurrency or money-making schemes may have led Facebook users to assume they were sponsored by celebrities (ACCC).
According to the ACCC’s case filed in Federal Court, Facebook “aided and abetted or was knowingly concerned in fraudulent or deceptive behaviour and claims by the advertisers.”
“The essence of our argument is that Meta is liable for the advertisements it posts on its platform,” stated ACCC Chair Rod Sims. “It is alleged that Meta was aware that fraudulent ads were being displayed on Facebook but did not take adequate actions to remedy the problem.”
Source: Computer Weekly
Meta claimed that any adverts that defrauded consumers or misled users were against its principles and that the firm used technology to detect and block such posts. It also said that it had “cooperated with the ACCC’s investigation into this subject to date.”
“We will evaluate the ACCC’s recent submission and expect to defend the proceedings,” a Meta representative said in an emailed statement, declining to say more because the case was still pending in court.
According to the ACCC, the adverts featured photographs of many Australian corporate executives, TV hosts, and politicians, as well as links to phoney media articles with statements ascribed to the individuals.
Scammers contacted users who had joined up to persuade them to deposit money into the phoney schemes, according to the authority.
“A consumer has lost about A$650,000 ($480,000) as a result of one of these scams,” Sims said.
Last month, Andrew Forrest, head of the Australian iron ore company Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX), filed a criminal lawsuit against Facebook for using his image to promote cryptocurrency scams.
Financial fraud allegations are usually handled by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a business regulator (ASIC). Because the ACCC is pursuing financial penalties, it was given provisional powers to file the complaint.
Facebook launched a programme earlier this week to help political candidates and influencers in Australia learn about cyber security in order to minimise the spread of potentially harmful disinformation during the country’s upcoming federal election campaign.
