Advocates Sue Meta Over Fraudulent Ads

“Meta has knowingly taken steps and adopted policies that pad its bottom line at the expense of its users’ safety and well-being,” the Consumer Federation of America alleges in a complaint filed Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

The watchdog Consumer Federation of America alleges in a new lawsuit that Meta Platforms misleads Facebook and Instagram users about the risk that they will encounter scams, and by “knowingly targeting and profiting” from fraudulent ads.

“Meta has knowingly taken steps and adopted policies that pad its bottom line at the expense of its users’ safety and well-being,” the advocacy group alleges in a complaint filed Tuesday in District of Columbia Superior Court. “By downplaying — and in many cases, actively contributing to — the proliferation of scams and fraud on its platforms and grossly exaggerating the steps Meta takes to protect users from scams, Meta has misled its users, including those in the District of Columbia, about the risks they face every time they log onto one of Meta’s platforms, including Facebook.”