According to reports, Australia’s competition watchdog said today that it has opened a lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta, accusing the social media company of engaging in false or misleading cryptocurrency advertising in the country.
It is reported that Meta has released advertisements featuring famous Australian public figures promoting cryptocurrency investments or money-making schemes. According to the regulator, this is a scam that is likely to mislead users into believing them.
Meta was allegedly aware of celebrity endorsement of cryptocurrency scam ads on Facebook, but did not do enough to address the issue, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said. The regulator is seeking declarations, warnings, fines and other orders. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The regulator said Facebook users were directed to a “fake media article” that included an endorsement of a cryptocurrency or money-making scheme by a public figure, enticing users to sign up before scammers forced them to deposit funds into the fake scheme.
“We believe that Meta’s technology enables these ads to target users who are most likely to engage with the ad,” said Rod Sims, chairman of the committee. Meta assured users that it would detect and prevent spam and improve Facebook security, but it failed to stop other similar celebrity endorsement cryptocurrency scam ads.