Meta sued by Australian watchdog over scam crypto ads
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc is being sued by Australia’s competition watchdog, which accuses the social-media giant of misleading users by publishing scam ads featuring unintentional local celebrities.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said on Friday that the ads promoted cryptocurrency investment and linked to fake media articles supporting the schemes.
The watchdog said Facebook users believed the promotional ads were linked to famous people, including businessman Dick Smith and television presenter David Koch, even though he never approved of them.
Meta, which also owns Instagram, “engages in false, deceptive or deceptive conduct,” the ACCC said. The watchdog said the firm’s technology enabled these ads to be targeted at the most vulnerable users. According to the statement, one person suffered a loss of more than $650,000 ($480,000).
“The gist of our case is that Meta is responsible for the ads it publishes on its platform,” said ACCC president Rod Sims. It is alleged that Meta was aware that celebrity endorsement cryptocurrency scam ads were being displayed on Facebook, but did not take adequate steps to address the issue.
“We don’t want ads on Facebook to scam people or mislead people – they violate our policies and aren’t good for our community.” Meta’s Sydney-based spokesperson said in a statement. “We will review the most recent filing by the ACCC and intend to defend the proceedings.”
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