Facebook-Parent Meta Sued in Australia Over Scam Cryptocurrency Advertisements

Meta was accused of failing to do enough to stop scam ads for cryptocurrency or money-making schemes.

Facebook-Parent Meta Sued in Australia Over Scam Cryptocurrency Advertisements

Meta said it had cooperated with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's investigation

Highlights
  • Meta said it sought to stop scam ads by using technology to block them
  • According to the commission, the ads featured Mike Baird and Dick Smith
  • These ads damage reputation of public figures, said commission's chair
Advertisement

Australia announced Friday it is suing Facebook owner Meta over scam adverts for cryptocurrency schemes that falsely claimed to be endorsed by prominent figures.

Australia's consumer protection commission said it had started Federal Court proceedings against Meta Platforms for "false, misleading or deceptive conduct" in breach of consumer or securities laws. It accused Meta of failing to do enough to stop scam ads for cryptocurrency or money-making schemes, even after being alerted by celebrities who had been misrepresented by similar ads published on Facebook.

Meta vowed to defend itself, saying in a statement that it sought to stop scam ads by using technology to detect and block them. "We don't want ads seeking to scam people out of money or mislead people on Facebook — they violate our policies and are not good for our community," a Meta spokesperson said. The social media titan said it had cooperated with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's investigation.

According to the commission, the ads featured well-known Australians, including former New South Wales premier Mike Baird and businessman Dick Smith. But the high-profile personalities featured in the ads had never approved or endorsed them, it said.

"Apart from resulting in untold losses to consumers, these ads also damage the reputation of the public figures falsely associated with the ads," said the commission's chair, Rod Sims.

"Meta failed to take sufficient steps to stop fake ads featuring public figures, even after those public figures reported to Meta that their name and image were being featured in celebrity endorsement cryptocurrency scam ads," he said.

The commission said it was aware of one consumer who had lost more than AUD 650,000 (roughly Rs. 36,595,312) in one of the scams being falsely advertised as an investment opportunity on Facebook.

"This is disgraceful," Sims said.

The consumer protection authority said it was seeking orders from the court including injunctions, penalties and the payment of legal costs.


This week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, we dive into Apple's Peek Performance event. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Facebook, Meta, Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin Turns Red While Ether Continues to Surge as PoS Transition Looks Imminent for the Network
Crypto Scammers Axed as Much as $120 Million From Kenyans in 2021, Cabinet Secretary Claims
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »