Facebook is facing a lawsuit from the Australian regulator over fraudulent cryptocurrency ads on the social media platform that have used faces of various celebrities and prominent figures in the country.
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Facebook has to face a lawsuit in Australia
According to a report by Reuters, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission or the ACCC took Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms to court for allegedly failing to prevent fraudulent advertising.
The Australian nation’s competition watchdog said these alleged crypto scam ads on Facebook featured faces of celebrities or prominent figures.
Fake crypto ads from Facebook
The ACCC added that the deceptive ads promoting various money-making schemes and crypto investments used famous Australians to lure online people on Facebook.
In turn, it appears as if the celebrities used in the fake ads on Facebook endorsed what was being promoted, such as: B. Crypto investments.
Additionally, the Australian regulator’s lawsuit against Meta further alleged that the social media firm knowingly allowed these deceptive crypto ads, which the regulator said were “false, misleading or deceptive.”
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Investment fraud and Australian numbers
According to a recent ` report, the ACCC revealed that the fake investment ads found on Facebook included various well-known celebrities in Australia, such as TV presenter David Koch.
Not to mention the scammers included the likes of entrepreneur Dick Smith and former New South Wales politician and Premier Mike Baird, who is also an investment banker.
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ACCC chairman Rob Sims told the British news outlet that one of the victims of the fake ads on Facebook lost a staggering $480,000.
It’s not the first time that Facebook has run into trouble over the alleged existence of fake ads posing as celebrity figures from the social media giant.
In fact, in the same story, the ` found that an Australian billionaire, Andrew Forrest, previously took Facebook’s owner to court in a criminal case after his image was used in fake ads on the platform.
However, it’s worth noting that the Australian billionaire’s lawsuit against Meta accuses the tech giant of violating anti-money laundering laws.
On the other hand, the Australian Competition Authority’s latest lawsuit is suing Facebook for alleged breaches of consumer law.
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Written by Teejay Boris
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