Santa Clara County sues Meta over scam ads on Facebook and Instagram
The complaint, filed on behalf of California residents, alleges Meta earns up to $7bn a year from “high-risk” scam ads and tolerated the practice. The county wants restitution, civil damages, and an injunction.
Santa Clara County has sued Meta Platforms in California state court, alleging the company profits from scam advertising on Facebook and Instagram 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, alleges that Meta earns as much as $7bn in annual revenue from advertisements that bear clear signs of fraud.
The complaint says Meta “largely tolerated” the misconduct and established internal guardrails to block scam-reduction efforts that cost the company too much money.
The county also alleges that Meta allowed middlemen to sell ad accounts that were protected against enforcement and that the company targeted scam ads at users who had...
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