"California's Santa Clara county has sued Meta Platforms, alleging it has profited from Facebook and Instagram ads promoting scams in violation of California's false advertising and unfair business practices laws. The lawsuit filed on Monday in Santa Clara county superior court on behalf of all California residents accuses the social media giant of tolerating fraudulent advertising on a global basis. The suit seeks restitution, civil damages and an order prohibiting Meta from engaging in unfair business practices."
"Citing leaked internal documents first reported by Reuters last year, the complaint alleges that the company earned as much as $7bn in annual revenue from so-called high-risk scam ads which show clear signs of being fraudulent. Rather than undertaking a broad crackdown on fraudulent advertisers, the county alleges, Meta largely tolerated the misconduct and even established guardrails to block scam reduction efforts if they cost the company too much money."
"In the suit, Santa Clara alleges that Meta materially contributed to an epidemic of fraud by allowing middlemen to sell accounts to place ads that were protected against enforcement, and targeting scam ads at users who had clicked on similarly bogus offerings in the past. Citing Reuters' testing, the county alleged Meta's generative artificial intelligence systems often assist unethical marketers in creating ads for scams."
"Meta said it intends to defend itself against the claim. This claim relies on Reuters reporting that distorts our motives and ignores the full range of actions we take to combat scams every day, said a Meta spokesperson, Andy Stone. We aggressively fight scams on and off our platforms because they're not good for us or the people and businesses that rely on our services."
Santa Clara County sued Meta Platforms in Santa Clara County Superior Court, alleging Facebook and Instagram ads promoted scams in violation of California false advertising and unfair business practices laws. The county claims Meta tolerates fraudulent advertising globally, seeking restitution, civil damages, and an order barring unfair business practices. The complaint cites leaked internal documents and alleges Meta earned up to $7 billion annually from high-risk scam ads. The county alleges Meta set guardrails that limited scam reduction efforts when they would cost the company money. It also alleges Meta materially contributed to fraud by allowing middlemen to sell accounts protected from enforcement and by targeting users who previously clicked similar bogus offers. The county further alleges Meta’s generative AI systems help unethical marketers create scam ads. Meta said it will defend itself, stating it aggressively fights scams and that the allegations mischaracterize its motives and actions.
#meta-platforms #facebook-and-instagram-ads #scam-advertising #false-advertising #unfair-business-practices
Read at www.theguardian.com
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