The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has sued Meta, Facebook’s parent company, over claims that the company misled its users by allowing scam bitcoin adverts featuring unknowing celebrities, to be run on its social platforms.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission on Friday stated that the advertisements posted by the company promoted cryptocurrency investment opportunities and were connected to fake articles that endorsed such schemes.
Celebrities including Dick Smith and David Koch were featured on the adverts leading people to believe the ads were associated with the personalities even though the individuals never signed any such deal.
Rod Sims, Chair of the ACCC, commented:
The essence of our case is that Meta is responsible for the ads that it publishes on its platform. It is alleged that Meta was aware that the celebrity endorsement cryptocurrency scam ads were being displayed on Facebook, but did not take sufficient steps to address the issue.
The ACCC also elaborated that the company “engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct,” allowing the ads to be targeted to the most vulnerable users. The agency even claimed that one person lost over $480,000 in the scam.
While a Meta spokeswoman based in Australia, in a comment to Bloomberg, clarified:
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. We will review the recent filing by the ACCC and intend to defend the proceedings.
