Facebook is once again at the center of a controversy.
It’s as if the social media giant, which last October changed its name to become meta platforms (FB) – Get Meta Platforms Inc. Class A Reportstruggles to manage its practices.
The Australian Consumer Watchdog (ACCC) has decided to sue Meta for allegedly “supported and enthusiastic” celebrity scam ads on Facebook that have cost some Australians hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Meta “engaged in misleading, deceptive or deceptive conduct by publishing scam ads featuring prominent Australian public figures”, the regulator argued in a press release.
The ACCC claims that this conduct was in breach of Australian Consumer Law (ACL) or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act (ASIC Act).
False ads associated with celebrities
It is also alleged that Meta helped and supported or was aware of and engaged in false or misleading behavior and representations by advertisers.
The ads that encouraged investment in cryptocurrency or money-making schemes were likely to mislead Facebook users into believing that the advertised schemes were linked to celebrities who appeared in the ads, such as businessman Dick Smith, TV presenter David Koch and former NSW Premier Mike Baird, “said ACCC.
Adds: “The schemes were in fact scams, and the people who appeared in the ads never approved or supported them>
According to the regulator, the ads contained links that led Facebook users to a fake media article that contained quotes attributed to the public figure referred to in the ad, which supports a crypto-currency or money-making scheme.
“Users were then invited to sign up and were then contacted by scammers who used high-pressure tactics, such as repeated phone calls, to persuade users to deposit funds and fake schemes.”
“The essence of our case is that Meta is responsible for the ads it publishes on its platform,” said ACCC Chair Rod Sims.
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“It’s a key part of Meta’s business of enabling advertisers to target users who are most likely to click on the link in an ad to visit the landing page of the ad, using Facebook algorithms. These visits to landing pages generate from ads substantial income for Facebook.
“In a shocking case, we are aware of a consumer who lost more than $ 650,000 because of one of these scams that was incorrectly advertised as an investment opportunity on Facebook. This is a shame,” Mr Sims said.
It is alleged that Meta was aware that the celebrity endorsement cryptocurrency scam ads were displayed on Facebook but did not take enough steps to address this issue. The celebrity development cryptocurrency scam ads were still displayed on Facebook, even after public figures around the world complained that their names and pictures and similar ads were used without their consent.
The regulator seeks penalties, costs and other orders.
Contacted by TheStreet, Meta did not respond. But according to statements in other news, Meta said it would defend the proceedings.
Facebook accused of ‘malicious technology’
“We do not want ads that promise people money or deceive people on Facebook – they violate our policies and are not good for our community. We use technology to detect and block scam ads and work for the scammer. “Attempts to avoid our detection systems,” a spokesman for The Guardian said.
“We have worked closely with the ACCC investigation into this matter to date.”
Between October and December of last year, Meta removed 1.7 billion counterfeit accounts and 1.2 billion pieces of spam content – more than 99.9% and 99.6% of each, respectively, were shut down before they were reported.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company has filed a lawsuit in California in 2020 against Basant Gajjar.
“Using the name ‘LeadCloak’, Gajjar violated Facebook’s terms and policies by providing cloaking software and services that bypass automated advertising rating systems, and eventually run misleading ads on Facebook and Instagram,” Facebook said in April 2020.
The company explained that cloaking is a malicious technique that obstructs ad rating systems by obstructing the nature of the website with an ad. When the ads are disguised, a company’s ad rating system may see a website displaying an innocent product as a sweater, but a user will see another website promoting misleading products and services that in many cases are not allowed.
“In this case, Leadcloak’s software was used to hide websites containing scams related to COVID-19, cryptocurrency, drugs, diet pills and fake news pages., Facebook Director of Platform Implementation and Process in a blog post.
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