The Consumer Federation of America has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Meta, accusing the company of failing to protect users from scam advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. The suit, alleging violations of Washington D.C. consumer protection laws, claims Meta has misled users and prioritized profits over safety. It includes examples of scam ads found in Meta's ad library.
The nonprofit Consumer Federation of America (CFA) filed the lawsuit in Washington D.C., stating that Meta has run afoul of local consumer protection laws by misleading users about scams on its platforms. CFA provided numerous examples from Meta's ad library, such as promotions for a 'free government iPhone' and $1,400 checks for people born in certain years. Many of these ads feature AI-generated videos, according to the filing, first reported by Wired. The lawsuit quotes CFA asserting, 'Meta claims it is doing all it can to crack down on scam advertising on its platforms. But in reality, Meta has knowingly taken steps and adopted policies that pad its bottom line at the expense of its users’ safety and well-being.' It further alleges that instead of prohibiting high-risk advertisers like Google does, Meta charges them more, resulting in greater profits from riskier ads. This follows a Reuters report from last year on internal Meta documents revealing billions in revenue from scam-promoting ads and banned goods, with company processes sometimes hindering efforts to combat malicious advertisers. A Meta spokesperson rejected the allegations, saying, 'CFA's allegations misrepresent the reality of our work and we will fight them.' The company highlighted its actions, noting it removed over 159 million scam ads last year—92% before reports—and shut down 10.9 million accounts linked to criminal scam centers on Facebook and Instagram. Meta emphasized that scams harm business interests.
