Facebook sued over 'scam celebrity crypto ads'

msn.com:

Facebook's parent company Meta is being sued for publishing "scam celebrity crypto ads" by the Australian competition watchdog. Facebook is accused of running ads that encouraged people to invest in cryptocurrency and other money-making schemes that were actually scams, leading to one consumer losing more than $650,000 AUS (£365).

The celebrities that featured in the ads "had never approved or endorsed them" according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which announced the court proceedings against Meta on Friday. Read more: Public warned over criminals using celebrities to promote fake investments The ads Facebook is accused of running in Australia took "users to a fake media article that included quotes attributed to the public figure featured in the ad endorsing a cryptocurrency or money-making scheme," said the ACCC. "Users were then invited to sign up and were subsequently contacted by scammers who used high pressure tactics, such as repeated phone calls, to convince users to deposit funds into the fake schemes," the watchdog added.

The regulator's chair Rod Sims - who launched the action on his last day at the regulator - said: "The essence of our case is that Meta is responsible for these ads that it publishes on its platform. "The social media platform is being accused of knowing that the celebrity endorsement scams were being run on Facebook but not doing enough to address the issue.

It comes as technology companies in the UK are to be forced to tackle scam advertisements through the new Online Safety Bill.